Simply put Americans Embracing Recycling
Let’s discuss the fact that my friends at ecoATM are proving Americans embracing recycling. On the heels of a holiday season in which one in three* Americans said they planned on giving electronics as gifts, ecoATM® (www.ecoatm.com), the nationwide network of automated electronics recycling kiosks, today announced it has officially recycled more than two million phones and devices in its four-year history. Pointing to a rising trend in Americans’ interest in electronics recycling, it took just nine months for ecoATM to double the number of devices it has processed; the company announced it had recycled one million devices in April 2013.
ecoATM’s more than 800 kiosks, which are located in shopping malls and retailers, recycle consumer electronics — including mobile phones, tablets and MP3 players — to keep them out of landfills or from languishing in desk drawers, and provide cash payments as an incentive for consumers to recycle. Customers can also choose to donate a portion or all of their cash payment to a number of charity partners. Plus, many consumers use the cash they get from ecoATM to support their local economies by spending it right there in the location where they recycled their devices.
ecoATM says Americans Embracing Recycling
More people across the country are discovering the hidden value inside their old phones and electronic devices. In fact, many of these devices have spent years forgotten in drawers, closets, and cabinets. However, they still contain valuable materials and may even have significant resale or recycling value.
At the time, only about 20 percent of cell phones were being recycled. Therefore, millions of unused phones represented a major opportunity for consumers and the recycling industry. Instead of letting these devices collect dust, people could give them a second life. Moreover, responsible recycling could recover valuable materials while keeping electronic waste out of landfills.
“More people across the country are realizing the hidden value in the phones and devices they’ve been tossing into junk drawers for years,” said Mark Bowles, founder and Chief Marketing Officer of ecoATM. He also pointed to the enormous potential for millions of Americans to participate in electronics recycling.
ecoATM Kiosk Experience
Meanwhile, ecoATM aimed to make the process simple and rewarding. Consumers could bring unwanted electronics to a participating kiosk and potentially turn their old technology into cash. As a result, people gained a financial incentive to clean out their unwanted electronics.
At the same time, the environmental benefits extended far beyond clearing household clutter. Electronics can contain metals, plastics, and other materials that recyclers can recover and reuse. Furthermore, keeping unwanted electronics in the recycling stream reduces the amount of potentially hazardous electronic waste entering landfills.
“Our goal is to offer consumers an opportunity to convert their clutter into cash while doing the right thing for the environment,” Bowles said.
Ultimately, every recycled phone represents more than an unwanted gadget leaving a junk drawer. Instead, it becomes part of a growing effort to recover valuable resources, reduce electronic waste, and build a more circular economy.
ecoATM: Making a Dent in the eWaste Problem
In addition to the cash value that consumers have gained by recycling their devices through ecoATM, the collection of two million devices has enabled the recovery or reuse of:
- 500,000 pounds of devices – three space shuttles worth of plastics, metals and potentially toxic materials
- 70,000 pounds of copper – enough to create a second Statue of Liberty (made of 62,000 pounds of copper) and still have extra
- 1,544 pounds of silver – enough to create 22,540 American Eagle silver dollar coins (made of .0685 pounds of silver)
Devices of All Stripes
In the course of collecting more than two million devices, ecoATM has processed or recycled virtually every type of phone ever made or sold in the United States. Of the more than 4,000 different devices ecoATM can recognize and recycle, the most recycled device in its history is the Apple iPhone 4 32GB.
ecoATM kiosks accept devices of any era or condition and use a worldwide auction system to offer consumers competitive prices, ranging from a few dollars for older models to a few hundred for newer smartphones depending upon condition. Some very old phones may not be worth anything, but with ecoATM you can be assured that they will be responsibly recycled.
To learn more about ecoATM or to find a kiosk, visit www.ecoatm.com.
*National Retail Federation 2013 data
About ecoATM
ecoATM, a subsidiary of Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq: OUTR), is the first company to create an automated self-serve kiosk system to buy back old phones, tablets or MP3 players for cash. ecoATM uses patented, advanced machine vision, electronic diagnostics, and artificial intelligence to evaluate electronics. ecoATM’s eCycling stations provide a convenient trade-in solution with features that validate sellers’ identities and deter the sale of stolen phones, and the company is known for its collaboration with national, state, and local law-enforcement groups in combating mobile phone theft through innovative use of technology and education
(http://www.ecoatm.com/law-enforcement/).
ecoATM holds both Responsible Recycling (R2) and ISO14001 certification, confirming the company’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of electronics recycling, as well as ISO27001 certification for information and personal data security. See http://www.ecoatm.com/how-it-works/ for a video of how an ecoATM kiosk works. For more information, visit www.ecoatm.com and for more information about Outerwall Inc. please visit www.outerwall.com.
SOURCE ecoATM
