We all have old cell phones lying aroundcollecting dust. Now, thanks to a new automated kiosk from ecoATM, you can recycleyour old cell phone and get a reward for doing so. The self-serve eCycling stationfrom ecoATM electronically inspects your phone, assigns it a real-timesecondary market value, and then provides an in-store trade-up coupon or giftcard (assuming the handset still has monetary worth). If your handset doesn'thave any value, you can assign the device to the recycle bin where it willbe recycled or refurbished.
ecoATM recently rolled out its first recycling kiosk atNebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha, NE. The company plans to install additionaleCycling Stations at several national retailers over the next quarter in SanDiego, Boston, Dallas, and Seattle. A more massive rollout is set for thesecond quarter of next year.
"The ecoATM makes it easy and convenient for ourcustomers to trade-in and recycle their used mobile phones," said JayBuchanan, Electronics Division Director, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Inc.,America's Largest Home Furnishings Store. "This benefits both ourcustomers and the environment."
The machines use a camera-based system to detect signs ofwear including cracked screens, missing keys, and scuff marks. The cameras alsohelp to determine an approximate value for the phone. Even if your phone isn'tworth anything, you may still get a free gift—at the Nebraska Furniture Mart kiosk,for instance, you'll get a waterproof phone case for your efforts and ecoATMwill plant a tree on your behalf.
"We are extremely pleased with the initial results andconsumers' delight with the system," said Mark Bowles, CEO, ecoATM Inc."ecoATM's solution finally makes it easy for consumers to give their usedphones a second life or to recycle them. Over 100 million used, but stillvaluable, phones are quietly retired to closets and drawers each year in the USwhere they decay into zero value and then enter our landfills years later. Ourautomated ecoATM provides consumers and retailers an easy, convenient,incentivized method to convert those devices into real money instead of toxicwaste."
Right now, the ecoATM only accepts phones but in the future,the kiosks should be able to accept and recognize other gadgets such as MP3players, digital cameras, notebooks, printers, and storage devices.
ecoATM kiosk at Nebraska Furniture Mart in Omaha, NE
For retailers, the ecoATM makes sense: the machines areinstalled for free and there are reward tie-ins and potential for increasedfoot traffic. "Consumer electronics retailers and their OEM partners arefacing a complex and growing set of state and municipal eWaste laws. Consumerconvenience is important to solving the eWaste problem in the U.S., andtrade-in/trade-up incentive programs are proving to be quite effective inretail," said Leslie Hand, Research Director, IDC Retail Insights.
