With recycling, it really is the little things that count sometimes. Anyone who’s saved up a load of bottlecaps or bread tags because they get their own recycling channels knows that. Apparently, so does Vodacom. The mobile carrier is launching its new Eco-SIM cards, made entirely out of recycled plastic.

Vodaconservation

The new SIM launch is a part of the company’s green initiative that seeks to halve its own greenhouse emissions by 2025.

“At Vodacom South Africa, we have always maintained that business success should not come at the cost to the planet,” reads a statement from Vodacom SA MD Balesh Sharma. “We believe that urgent and sustained action is required to address climate emergency, which is why we constantly launch products and initiatives that aim to preserve the planet in line with our purpose.”

Like other environmentally conscious companies, Vodacom plans on eliminating plastic usage in various parts of its business. It’s a continuous process that’s been in the works for a while. Back in 2019, the company eliminated the usage of plastic bags in its retail stores, opting instead for brown paper bags.

Vodacom acknowledges that a more scorched-earth method of eliminating plastic SIM usage in its devices would be via eSIMs. It was the first mobile carrier to support eSIMs, beginning in 2019.

But it says that for now, while most of its mobile customers still require physical SIM cards for their devices, offering and encouraging customers to opt-in to recycled SIMs over new ones is its best bet for reducing plastic waste.

“We are constantly researching and launching initiatives that help us create a sustainable future and preserve our natural resources,” says Davide Tacchino, Managing Executive of Terminals at Vodacom.

“We aim to minimise and eliminate plastic usage at all our touchpoints, including our warehouse and our different logistics and distribution chains.”