VMO2 leads the charge to donate used gadgets

Britons would rather sit in a tub of baked beans or be silent for 24 hours to raise money for charity than hand in their unused smartphones, according to new research from Virgin Media O2 and environmental charity Hubbub.*

This could be because more than 4 in 10 people (44%) wrongly believe that charities do not accept smartphones, with almost 15 million** unwanted devices lying around collecting dust in homes and garages across the country.

Despite this, more than seven in 10 Britons feel guilty about not doing enough to support charities or people in need, while almost two thirds (63%) say they would like to make a more positive contribution to society.

The survey found that almost two thirds (62%) donate to charity because they want to feel like they are helping others, while almost half (48%) will donate an item to a good cause if they know it will have a positive impact on someone’s life.

More than half of Britons (53%) would like their phone to go to someone who needs it, and more than 4 in 10 (47%) believe that passing on their device to someone else is better for the planet as it can be given a second life rather than ending up in landfill as electronic waste.

Donated devices change lives

Virgin Media O2 and Hubbub are calling on people to donate their unwanted smartphones to those in need as part of a pioneering Community Calling scheme.

Community Calling was founded in 2020 in response to the pandemic to provide smartphones to people who could not afford the devices or the connectivity to access the internet. The initiative has already distributed 20,000 devices to those who need them across the country, including victims of domestic violence, refugees and disadvantaged communities. Partners include Women’s Aid, Crisis, and Migrant Help and Supporting Children with Diabetes.

The devices use free O2 mobile data from the National Data Bank, which was set up by Virgin Media O2 and the charity Good Things Foundation.

UK residents can send their unwanted working smartphones for free to Community Calling, where accredited technology partner, Genuine Solutions, will wipe the data from the device before it reaches the person who needs it.

It is part of Virgin Media O2’s sustainability strategy, the Better Connections Plan, which aims to encourage consumers to take 10 million “circular actions” to help tackle electronic waste.