Carbon Savings & Sustainability

70kg of CO₂ saved. Per phone.

Making a new smartphone emits roughly 80–85 kg of CO₂ equivalent, most of it during mining, refining, and chip fabrication. Using a refurbished phone instead displaces that production cycle and avoids ~70kg of that emissions total, according to Deloitte's 2024 sustainability analysis of the refurb sector.

Every phone we sell has already been manufactured once. Keeping it in use for another 2–3 years is the single most impactful thing the smartphone industry can do to reduce its footprint.

The e-waste problem in two numbers

• The world generates 62 million tonnes of e-waste per year (UN Global E-waste Monitor 2024).
• Only 22% of it is formally collected and recycled. The rest leaks into landfill, informal recyclers, or "stored somewhere" drawers.

Smartphones are a small fraction of that tonnage but an outsized fraction of the embedded carbon. Keeping a phone alive for a second owner is the intervention with the highest leverage.

What we do

• Repair over replace. We invest in component-level repair (displays, batteries, charging ports, cameras) rather than recycling devices that could keep working. Our repair rate on inbound phones is 94%.
• Certified recycling for the 6%. Phones we can't repair go to R2-certified downstream recyclers — not general waste streams.
• Batteries, specifically. Spent lithium batteries are the highest-risk component. We partner with Call2Recycle for hazmat-grade battery recovery.
• Packaging. Our ship boxes are 100% recycled cardboard with water-based inks. No plastic fillers, no laminated inserts.

Your impact

We're building a per-order carbon savings estimate that will surface on your account once you've made a purchase. For now: every phone you buy from us displaces one new-phone purchase and keeps roughly 70kg of CO₂ out of the atmosphere. That's equivalent to driving a gas car ~175 miles.

Questions or want our sourcing/recycling documentation? Email support@2ndphoneclub.com.