EcoATM, a network of automated electronics recycling kiosks, says it has recycled more than 2 million phones and devices in its four-year history.
The company says this shows a 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 1 million devices in April 2013.
EcoATM’s more than 800 kiosks, which are located in shopping malls and retailers across the US, recycle consumer electronics — including mobile phones, tablets and MP3 players — to keep them out of landfills 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.
Only 20 percent of cell phones are recycled today, which shows the potential to keep tons of e-waste out of landfills, says Mark Bowles, ecoATM’s founder.
The collection of 2 million devices has enabled the recovery or reuse of:
Apple, Dell, HP and some 2,000 other consumer electronics companies increased the amount of electronics they recycled by about 27 percent in 2012, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
