Recycle Your Used Electronic Device for Money with ecoATM

According to an article on Brighthand, the EPA estimates that only 10% of cell phones are recycled. A survey by Nokia, found that only 3% were recycled worldwide, 4% were tossed in landfills, 44% were unused in the person’s home, and the rest passed on to family or sold on the secondary market. I know our family has at least seven or eight phones stuffed in drawers, etc., replaced by the latest 4G smart phone with dual cameras and Angry Birds.

So what to do with all those unused cell phones that people are too eco-concious to just toss in the trash? Enter ecoATM, a San Diego, CA, based company that is marketing a recycling kiosk for used consumer electronics and mobile phones.

The kiosk uses cameras to scan the device for wear and determines a value based on brand, model and worldwide demand. If you accept the price offered, the kiosk provides an appropriate cable to connect your device for final inspection and then wipes all personal data. To prevent fraud, ecoATM scans your driver’s license or personal ID card. You are then issued either store credit (depending on the location of the kiosk) or cash for your used device. The device is securely stored in the kiosk for later resale and reuse by worldwide secondary markets or responsibly recycled for key components and precious metals.

The ecoATM kiosks are primarily located in California, with single locations in Seattle, Kansas, and Nebraska.

The video describing the ecoATM process in greater detail can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/BuKpAgF59f8