Vodacom – ‘Good as New’ devices program: raising awareness in Africa 

E-waste is the fastest-growing stream of waste in the world. According to the most recent Global E-waste Monitor, more than 50 million metric tonnes (Mt) of e-waste is generated globally per year.  

To help tackle the growing problem of e-waste, Vodacom launched “Good as New” for refurbished devices in 2022, after a few years of proof of concepts and trials. “Good as New” products are sourced from third parties and from Vodacom returns and aftercare, and resold in South Africa and in the other Vodacom markets. They include smartphones, modems, routers, tablets and notebooks. 

The program aims to: 

• Reduce e-waste and increase the reuse of electronic devices. Reconditioning devices extends the product lifecycle, reducing the annual carbon footprint of the device over its lifetime. One research study* found that a refurbished phone used for 2 years creates 24.6kg CO₂e less carbon emissions per year when compared to a new phone used for 3 years. 

• Reduce the need to produce new devices, which reduces the need to extract raw materials. The same study found that buying and using a refurbished phone instead of a new phone requires the extraction of 76.9kg less raw materials.  

• Improve the supply of affordable second-hand mobile devices to accelerate digital adoption and digital inclusion, reducing the cost to connect and providing more people with access to the benefits of connectivity and participation in the digital society.  

Vodacom has sold more than 60,000 Good as New products in 2023, helping to grow the market as a whole and helping to scale up action to promote a circular economy and tackle e-waste. As part of the programme, Vodacom:  

• Partners with multiple businesses to source second-hand devices. Vodacom carefully vets and certifies prospective partners and regularly tests the products they offer to meet its stringent quality requirements  

• Reconditions devices returned by customers, including hardware, software and product packaging 

• Offers Good as New products with 12 months warranty to provide customers with peace of mind  

Vodacom is continuing to explore ways in which to scale up the Good as New product range to further reduce the environmental impact of e-waste and simultaneously improve access to affordable mobile devices.   

* Source is a lifecycle assessment study (Erwann Fangeat, ADEME, et al, Assessment of the environmental impact of a set of refurbished products – Final Report (2022))