Community Updates

Sprint Offers Minimum Buyback Credit to Encourage Phone Trade-In on America Recycles Day

Published 11 years ago | About a 4 minute read

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Nov. 14, 2013 – Despite being the No. 3 wireless carrier in the United States, Sprint [NYSE:S] leads the industry in phone recycling. Last year, Sprint reclaimed 4.4 million phones through voluntary collection programs compared to AT&T’s 3.1 million and Verizon’s 3 million. Sprint continues to highlight the environmental benefits of phone recycling and to raise awareness around the financial benefits of its phone trade-in program, where customers can receive up to a $300 credit as part of the Sprint Buyback Program. To celebrate America Recycles Day (Friday, Nov. 15), throughout the week Sprint will offer new and existing customers a minimum account credit of $20 for any phone traded in, in any condition, regardless of carrier in select Sprint stores in San Antonio, Houston, Los Angeles and New York. Last weekend, the wireless carrier also placed extra emphasis on its phone reuse and recycling efforts at NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Phoenix. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 135 million mobile devices are discarded every year. Many find their final resting place in a junk drawer or, worse, landfills. It’s estimated just over 10 percent of mobile devices ready for end-of-life management in the United States are recycled. In 2001, Sprint recognized the trend and initiated the Sprint Buyback program to help solve the growing threat of electronic waste (e-waste). Since then, Sprint has reclaimed more than 50 million mobile devices, putting more than $100 million back in customers’ pockets last year alone. That equals approximately 13.8 million pounds of e-waste, the fastest growing waste stream in the United States. “The Sprint Buyback Program is an important program for customers, that also just happens to benefit our business,” said Kendra Wright, who leads Sprint’s phone recycling operations. “We look beyond just the recycling, or dismantling of a phone, but instead focus on remanufacturing and giving that phone a second life. By collecting and reusing millions of devices a year, we spend less buying new devices.” Offering certified pre-owned phones to customers at a fraction of the price benefits customers and is a successful business model for Sprint. Today nine of every 10 devices that come back through the Sprint Buyback program get reused, not just recycled. The last 10 percent of phones that are “recycled” are broken into parts that can be recycled as raw materials for a surprising number of goods, from jewelry to battery packs to car parts. Compass Intelligence recognized Sprint for having the industry’s best trade-in program the last two years among national carriers. The convenience of the Sprint Buyback program – both in Sprint retail locations and online – and the ability to accept competitor devices led to the recognition. Furthermore, Sprint is the first and only U.S. wireless carrier to outline specific commitments that address e-waste holistically. Its Electronics Stewardship Policy, developed with guidance from BSR, Basel Action Network and ABI Research, focuses on the full lifecycle of the electronics that Sprint buys and sells. The policy publicly states Sprint will strive to design and buy greener electronics, extend the useful life of equipment, boost the collection of used equipment, maximize the reuse of electronics, and responsibly recycle the rest through third-party certified vendors. Sprint’s focus on the environment continues to earn the company top honors. For the third consecutive year, Sprint was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America, which tracks the corporate sustainability performance of the top 20 percent of the 600 largest companies by industry in the United States and Canada. Sprint was also named to both the Disclosure Leadership Index and Performance Leadership Index on the Carbon Disclosure Project S&P 500 Climate Change Report 2013. Sprint Good Works Sprint is committed to using its technology, human and financial resources to help make the world a better place. This commitment is found in the company’s business and culture, and it drives the Sprint Good WorksSM program. More than just a name, good works is also a belief: Good does indeed workSM. The good works Sprint performs every day benefit three key subjects: people, product and planet. For people, we demonstrate good works through targeted philanthropic initiatives and a diverse and ethical workforce. About Sprint Sprint (NYSE:S) offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint served more than 54 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2013 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint as the most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all 47 industries, during the last five years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.