Recycling

We operate take-back programs on our own and in partnership with carriers, customers, retailers and recyclers.

Motorola Solutions supports the concept of individual producer responsibility but we also understand that, to be sustainable, all parties who benefit from the material have a role to play. For us to meet our own responsibilities, we need customers to return obsolete electronics equipment for responsible recycling. Electronic equipment can impact the environment if disposed of incorrectly.

By law, we are required to take back and recycle our products in 30 countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area. Our commitment goes beyond legislation. For example, we operate a take-back program in the U.S. and Canada for government and public safety equipment and products for the enterprise market such as mobile computers and bar code scanners. Customers can use an online booking system to request collection of equipment. We are working to expand the program to Canada and countries outside North America.

Our products are designed to have a long useful life and to withstand extreme working conditions and environments. Customers often use our products for 12 or more years. Such durability helps reduce demand for raw materials.

Click here to learn more about our take-back program.

How we handle equipment returns

Specialist companies process the equipment received through our take-back programs for reuse, recycling of parts and materials and, as a last resort, disposal in a safe and responsible manner. We ensure that our recycling suppliers comply with all regulatory requirements for disposal of electronic equipment and follow Motorola Solutions and industry standards. Like all suppliers, recyclers must abide by our supplier code of conduct.

We give suppliers specific instructions on how to break down different types of equipment. If suppliers are unable themselves to recycle the equipment in the specified manner, they must observe it being safely destroyed by a licensed third party.

We audit all potential new recycling suppliers before they are contracted, to ensure they meet our standards.

We specify in contracts that electronic equipment must not be shipped to developing countries, to avoid the risk that it is processed in unsafe conditions. If we have concerns that equipment will not be handled correctly in the country where it is collected, we will ship it to an alternative location. For example, equipment collected in some sub-Saharan African countries is processed in the U.K.

Performance and goals