Gamers can now trade in their consoles for cash with O2 Recycle

Virgin Media O2 expands its O2 Recycle initiative so the general public can commerce in gaming programs from PlayStation, Xbox, Oculus and Nintendo for money.

Folks can ship their undesirable tech gadgets to O2 Recycle totally free the place the gadget shall be repaired, refurbished, resold, or recycled – with zero elements going to landfill. Players will obtain as much as £283 for a PlayStation 5, as much as £110 for a Nintendo Swap (OLED) and as much as £238 for an Xbox Collection X, so long as the gadgets work absolutely.

The initiative, which goals to sort out e-waste and promote the round economic system, can also be now accepting MacBooks, alongside smartphones, tablets, wearables and earbuds. Anybody can use O2 Recycle no matter their cell community.

Virgin Media O2 mentioned its latest analysis confirmed 58% of avid gamers have been unaware that consoles might be recycled. Whereas 83% mentioned they’re holding onto outdated consoles, regardless of not planning to make use of them, and 42% mentioned they don’t use their outdated gaming gadget as a result of it’s damaged or lacking an element.

The analysis additionally confirmed 75% of respondents mentioned they’d recycle their console in the event that they have been paid for it and 51% would achieve this to assist stop e-waste and defend the planet. Virgin Media O2 mentioned it surveyed a nationally consultant pattern of two,024 members of the UK basic public on-line between 29.02.24 and 08.03.24 to assemble the outcomes.

We’ve powered up O2 Recycle to cowl consoles and MacBooks.

Since its launch in 2009, Virgin Media mentioned O2 Recycle has recycled nearly 4 million gadgets and paid out £341 million to shoppers and, final yr, the initiative processed nearly 180,000 gadgets, which have been recycled or resold as “like new” merchandise to prospects.

The scheme is a part of Virgin Media O2’s sustainability technique, the Higher Connections Plan and its aim is to encourage shoppers to hold out 10 million “round actions” by the tip of 2025. The corporate has additionally partnered with environmental charity, Hubbub, on its Group Calling programme, which it mentioned has re-homed greater than 17,000 smartphones.

Dana Haidan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Virgin Media O2 commented: “We’ve powered up O2 Recycle to cowl consoles and MacBooks, making it even simpler for folks to commerce of their undesirable tech for money and to guard the planet by saving their gadget from landfill.

“With nearly 4 million gadgets recycled and £340 million paid out, O2 Recycle is main the UK’s round economic system and giving tech a second life so it may be used repeatedly.”