8,900 old cell phones recycled through Pommelien Thijs campaign

Brainscape processed the collected mobile phones from the campaign by Pommelien Thijs, Recupel and Ancienne Belgique into a tangible circular flow: devices were given a second life wherever possible, the remainder was safely recycled.

A summer full of old mobile phones, a warehouse full of new potential

Between the end of April and early May 2025, 8,900 old mobile phones were collected in Brussels during the campaign by Pommelien Thijs, Recupel and Ancienne Belgique (AB). Fans handed in their forgotten devices in exchange for a concert experience, but behind the scenes the real work only started then. At Brainscape, all devices entered a structured flow: registration, sorting, data security and subsequently reuse, refurbishing or recycling.

For us, such a campaign is not a one-off media story, but an accelerated version of what we do every day: transforming discarded electronics into demonstrable circular value for partners and their ESG reporting.

What happened to the 8,900 mobile phones

Once in our warehouse, each mobile phone goes through a fixed process aligned with European WEEE and GDPR guidelines.

• Data security as a baseline requirement
  All devices are tested and wiped using certified tools such as Blackbelt or Youwipe, fully compliant with GDPR and NIS2. This allows organisers to communicate with certainty that fan data is no longer present on the devices.
• Reuse and refurbishing first
  Devices with sufficient residual value are, where necessary, repaired and prepared for a second life on the European secondary market. This aligns with the Lansink’s Ladder and the European Green Deal, where reuse takes priority over recycling.
• Recycling of residual flows
  Irreparable devices are transferred to specialised recycling partners for urban mining of materials such as gold, copper, silver and palladium. In this way, critical raw materials are recovered to the maximum extent possible.

In this process, Brainscape primarily focuses on reuse and refurbishing, and only shifts to recycling through recognised partners when necessary.

Why partners such as Recupel and AB choose Brainscape

Brainscape is a Flemish company specialised in certified solutions for discarded electrical and electronic equipment, with a strong focus on smartphones, desktops, laptops, tablets, small electronics and ink and toner cartridges.
Key elements in collaborations such as this campaign include:

• We work with audited certifications such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and hold WEEELabex and Recupel recognitions. For organisations such as Recupel and AB, this certification base is crucial to substantiate their own sustainability commitments.
• Our own ERP and buy-back platform tracks each device from intake to output, including data for ESG reporting. This enables campaign partners not only to communicate collected volumes, but also to report on concrete reuse and recycling output.
• From our warehouse in Schoten, offering more than 1,000 m² of operational space, we can smoothly handle peak-volume campaigns such as this mobile phone initiative.

The broader impact: more than a single campaign

Campaigns such as the one with Pommelien Thijs demonstrate how quickly consumers take action when recycling is made tangible and rewarding. However, their full impact only becomes visible when the underlying chain is properly structured: secure data erasure, maximum reuse, controlled recycling and transparent reporting.

This is exactly where Brainscape has specialised in recent years: as a circular partner, we ensure that marketing initiatives, festival campaigns or corporate collection programmes are supported by robust processes. In this way, a full collection box becomes not only a strong visual, but also a measurable result in our partners’ ESG reporting.

Planning a collection campaign or internal take-back initiative?

Would you like your organisation to process old mobile phones, laptops or other WEEE in a structured way, with a focus on data security, reuse and demonstrable ESG impact?

We support campaigns from collection to reporting, with certified data erasure, transparent device-level tracking and clear reporting on reuse and recycling output.

Contact us via www.brainscape.eu/contact and discover how we turn your circular ambitions into measurable results.