Bouygues Telecom teams with Ruwido for sustainable remote controls

French service provider Bouygues Telecom has teamed up with technology partner Ruwido to create new remote controls for TVs that are 100% made from the recycled plastic of its own used remote controls.

Bouygues has teamed up with Ruwido to produce remotes for its Bbox 4K HDR TV box whose cases are fully recycled. The company said that from this month 100% of its new remote controls would be made from plastic recycled from its old remotes, without the use of any new plastic element.

Bouygues said the closed-loop recycling of components would saeve 21 tonnes of CO2 over the course of next year, and that it would extend the scheme to cover 100% of its set-top remote controls in the course of next year.

“Bouygues Telecom is one of the first operators to put in place this circular economy model. It’s a first step because from 2024, 100% of new remote controls for our TV Bbox decoders will be produced from recycled materials from products used by Bouygues Telecom. In this European Sustainable Development Week, Bouygues Telecom has sown its ability to innovate and evolve its mode of production to reduce the environmental footprint of its products, and we are very proud of that,” said Laure Joslet, deputy CEO for residential and professional markets at Bouygues Telecom.

“In 2023, 21,435kg of recycled materials have been collected from the old equipment of Bouygues Telecom, which will allow us to make 428,000 new remote controls: there is zero virgin non-used plastic. Bouygues Telecom is a real pioneer in this movement and we are very happy to bring to them our expertise to bring their climate strategy initiatives to a positive outcome,” said Peter Pinkhart-Wilder, business development at Ruwido.

“Ruwido and Bouygues Telecom have a common desire to care fodr our planet and we are very produe to be their partner soon for 20 years. Today Ruwido is accompanying Bouygues Telecom in putting together a closed-loop recycling programme aimed at reusing old equipment to produce new equipment. This approach is a significant step towards a better world,” said Ferdinand Maier, founder and CEO of Ruwido.

Ruwido showcased its ability to deliver fully recycled remote controls at this year’s IBC, where its booth was made entirely from recycled paper and card.

The company said it was now able to produce remote controls that have a carbon footprint two thirds smaller than before by using techniques including laser etch technology in place of printing and lacquering.

Ruwido said its one-piece haptic design and use of abrasion-resistant material also helped extend the life of the product and reduced its carbon footprint.