Mobile phone giant Vodafone switches to recycled plastic sim cards

The telecoms giant said that it would begin providing the new sim cards to customers this month.

STV News

19th Oct 2021

Vodafone is to switch to eco-sim cards made from recycled plastic as part of efforts to reduce its environmental impact.

The telecoms giant said that it would begin providing the new sim cards to customers this month, progressively replacing sim cards made from new plastic.

The company said the scheme would eliminate the need for 320 tonnes of virgin plastic to be manufactured each year, which it said as a result had the potential to greatly reduce emissions created during the manufacturing process.

The cards are to be rolled out in all of Vodafone’s 13 markets in Europe – including the UK – as well as Egypt, Turkey and South Africa.

“Our ultimate goal is to eliminate the need to supply plastic sims entirely,” Alex Froment-Curtil, Vodafone group chief commercial officer said.

“We have already halved the amount of plastic used in our sim cards, and the introduction of eco-sims made from recycled plastic will further reduce the environmental impact of our activities.”

Last year, Vodafone cut the size of the plastic holders in which sim cards arrive in half, which the company says reduced the amount of plastic provided to customers by around 340 tonnes a year.

The telecoms firm added that it would offer the recycled plastic sim cards until digital esims become more widespread among mobile phone users.