Nokia believes the management of unwanted handsets will contribute to a greener tomorrow for people around the world and hence has launched a Take-back and Recycling campaign in India as well as across 85 countries globally. This initiative is aimed at inculcating behavioural changes in consumers to make recycling of old and discarded handsets an instinctive action.

The programme was introduced in the country on January 1, this year through a four-city pilot including Ludhiana, Delhi, Gurgaon and Bangalore.

As part of this campaign, Nokia encourages consumers to drop their unused mobiles and chargers, irrespective of the brand into recycling bins placed at any of its Nokia Care Centres or priority dealers in these cities. The campaign is also backed by extensive support from resident welfare associations to create awareness and visibility for the concept, and urge people to recycle the phones that were no longer in use. There are more than 1,300 such recycling bins spread out across the country.

The first phase of the campaign was successful and over three tones of mobile waste including 10,000 handsets were collected in the first 45 days. Additionally, Nokia is committed to planting a sapling for each handset collected in these recycling bins. Towards this end, it has signed agreements with Ahimsa, Chennai, Rotary Bangalore Midtown, and Art of Living Foundation to plant over 35000 saplings in the cities of Kancheepuram, Bangalore, Mathura. Nokia has also launched a unique SMS campaign wherein customers can get to know about the nearest Nokia mobile waste collection point by simply sending an SMS 'Green' to 55555 from phones.