Fans scored with their old phones: how Brainscape processed the Re-cup-el devices
Three clubs, over 1000 phones and one shared goal: Recupel's Re-cup-el campaign shows how football and the circular economy reinforce each other. Find out what happened to the collected devices once they reached Brainscape.
During the play-offs in April and May, Cercle Brugge, La Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and OH Leuven competed for the Re-cup-el, an initiative by Recupel. Fans dropped off their old phones at the Recupel collection point in the stadium, earning their club a point in the race to collect the most devices. Across the three matchdays combined, more than 1000 devices arrived at Brainscape.
What reuse delivers
Research by the Fraunhofer Institute shows that every device given a second life through reuse saves an average of 58 kg of CO2 compared to manufacturing a new device. Correctly recycling phones can recover up to 98% of the materials they contain, significantly reducing the need for new extraction. In Belgium, an estimated 1.6 million phones sit unused in drawers. Every action like this one recovers a small part of that.
From stadium to Brainscape
The devices arrived at Brainscape through dedicated transport, collected in the blue collection bins developed jointly by Recupel and Brainscape. Every device first goes through data wiping in line with the NIST 800-88 standard, regardless of its eventual destination. Only after that does a thorough test determine whether a device is suitable for reuse or recycling. Every step is reported at serial number level.
A recurring collaboration
This action doesn't stand alone. Earlier this year, Brainscape also processed devices collected during Nerdland and the NRJ Music Tour in Wallonia, both in collaboration with Recupel.
Also relevant for businesses
For organisations looking for a certified partner to process outdated IT and telecom equipment, Brainscape applies the same approach: data wiping, testing, reuse, recycling and reporting as one integrated process.
Want to know what we can do for your business? Get in touch via our contact page.
