This spring, the Drôme area in southern France is starting a campaign to collect old mobile phones from six local high schools. The goal is to teach students about how digital devices can affect the environment. A study found that people in France have about 100 million unused mobile phones at home. These phones have precious metals like lithium, cobalt, and even a little gold, which are important and can be used again. Also, when people give their old phones for recycling, it helps cut down on electronic waste.

Schools will be taking part and will have a box where students can drop off old phones for five weeks. This is done with the help of Orange and others. The phones that are collected go through a program by Orange and Ateliers Emmaüs, which is like a second-hand shop, to make them as good as new. They first delete all the private information, then take the phones apart to either recycle parts or fix them up for reuse.

Marie-Pierre Mouton, President of the Council of the Drôme Department, highlights the importance of the initiatives: “This action for high school students illustrates our commitment to circularity and frugality, core values ​​for our department in the field of digital technology. It is through education that we can bring about behavioral change and preserve our resources for future generations”. In early June, the school that gathers the most phones will get a prize. If a lot of high school students join in, this phone collection might start in all schools next year.