Green - Where Does The Stuff Go?

Almost all consumer electronics (mobile phones, computers, monitors, printers, etc.) contain toxic materials such as lead, mercury, arsenic and a broad variety of other materials that pose a threat to the environment and health.  The eWaste challenge is to extend device usage to end-of-life, safely mine existing eWaste for materials, and design new devices with planned reclamation using reclaimed materials where possible.

The eWaste solution

• OEM's must consider the environment when selecting manufacturing materials and design the products for re-use.
• Existing consumer electronics must be mined to extract and re-use the toxic materials and precious metals.
• Devices must be used to the end of their functional lives.

At ecoATM, devices go through two paths: re-use and recycle.

• Re-use: Most consumer electronics and mobile phones are retired when they still have about three quarters of their useful life remaining. The products have been designed to last, but have been upgraded for newer features, performance or size. The used devices have a market, but are not currently remarketed due to the supply chain. Note that often times these devices are worth only 10-20% of their original value and in many cases less than the cost to mail them to another potential user. By creating a convenient and aggregated method of collecting/shipping devices, ecoATM can efficiently get them to their next user. ecoATM ships devices for re-use in volume to refurbishment companies that sell them to consumers worldwide. We ensure that our products do not enter unsavory recycling (materials reclamation) by only selling devices at 200% of their gross material value.
• Recycling: At some point in the lifecycle of a device, it no longer has any usability as a device. There are many reasons for this, ranging from water damage to technology evolution to malfunction of key components. These devices can be mined to extract precious metals, spare parts and other materials that can be re-used. This material re-use is a key component to solving the eWaste problem. ecoATM sends portable devices for recycle to Umicore (www.electronicscrap.umicore.com/home/) that operates an internationally recognized eco-friendly smelting facility for materials reclamation. Note that large devices are often logistically managed by our retail partners recycling channels and in those cases we do not control this flow of goods.