E-Waste: According to the EPA, in 2013 only 40% of all electronics were collected for recycling, the rest are disposed of in landfills. Improper e-waste disposal can pose environmental and human health risks.
Article: Recycling a Phone at EcoATM Is an Easy Route To Feeling Green
- eco-ATM gives a cash incentive for people to recycle their old phone, tablets, chargers and mp3 players
- eco-ATM examines the device and quotes a price to the user. If the user agrees, cash is dispensed on the spot making it easy and convenient to use the ATM. If the device has no re-sale value, eco-ATM® offers the option to donate the device to a charity of the user’s choice.
- eco-ATM resells the device on the market or recycles it at e-waste reclamation facilities
- As of 2014, 4 million devices have been collected at 1,890 kiosks nationwide. This has enabled the recovery or reuse of:
- 141,096 pounds of copper
- 3,088 pounds of silver
- 300 pounds of gold
- 132 pounds of palladium
Stakeholders:
- Customers – users of ecoATM®
- ecoATM team (design, implement, troubleshoot)
- e-waste reclamation facilities
- investors
- law enforcement (to deter people from attempting fraud and selling stolen property)
- manufacturing companies
Deployment:
- Obtain funding to set up more kiosks nationwide
- Create strategy mapping to determine where to expand the kiosks with the current funding
- Marketing campaign to promote the service. People have to be aware of the cash incentive of recycling
makeasmartcity 
This is an awesome idea! I’d love to get cash back for my old phone/cords/wires/tables over an instant cash-back local machine. The one concern about this idea is theft – like most technology, it could be misused. There’s a high chance that people would be encouraged to steal phones so that they could get money in exchange for it. I’d assume a security feature would be implemented to ensure a single user can’t exchange multiple phones…. Just a thought. Great idea though….
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They work with law enforcement to limit these scenarios. You have to submit your thumbprint as your signature before submitting your devices, but not sure how effective it is.
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