It is a safe bet to say that many young professionals have at least one smart phone or even a plain old-fashioned cell phone kicking around their place somewhere. This week, TELUS announced its brand new trade-in program, where Canadians can hand over their old cell phones to a TELUS location and receive an instant in-store credit for their used devices. Working in collaboration with eRecyclingCorps (eRC), TELUS makes the program available to all TELUS customers, both old and new. In addition to the well-received credit (we obviously aren’t going to stop buying devices anytime soon), this initiative gives people across the country the opportunity to dispose of their electronic devices safely and smartly. This program may even inspire you to trade in your beat up smart phone that is currently on its last legs in exchange for a newer, more advanced wireless device.
“Putting our customers first is at the core of what we do at TELUS, and that means we are listening and understand they want to upgrade devices more easily and more often,” said Brent Johnston, TELUS vice-president of mobility solutions. “Over the last few years, we’ve launched a number of initiatives making our service easier and more transparent. We have applied the same principles to our new trade-in program. It’s a smart and future-friendly way for our customers to get to their next device faster by trading in their current device for credit toward the latest and greatest smart phones and accessories.”
When you present your devices at a TELUS location, you will be offered a credit, providing the phone is recent enough that it can be refurbished or, if not, a donation of $3 to Tree Canada will be made. eRecyclingCorps, a carrier-grade wireless device trade-in solution, renews devices to strict certification standards and sells them to consumers in developing countries at an affordable price in an attempt to bridge the digital divide and keep the devices out of landfills. Customers can trade in up to three phones, mobile Internet keys or mobile Wi-Fi devices, with a maximum combined value of up to $200. Credits granted are applied to device or accessory costs for a new activation or renewal at time of trade.
The need for such a program was demonstrated through the results of a survey conducted by TELUS, which was set to determine what Canadians do with their old devices. As expected, the survey found that 61 per cent of those surveyed said they have between one and five old cell phones lying around their home. That same number said they would gladly trade their old phones in exchange for something in return.
Furthermore, the study found that 54 per cent of those surveyed would like to recycle their cell phones but don’t know how and Canadians are very concerned about the electronic waste piling up at home, with 82 per cent stating they would hand in their old phones if they knew they would be disposed of safety.
As young professionals in constant search of the latest in technology, this seems a no-fail option.