Wireless Industry Veterans Launch eRecyclingCorps to Tackle the 65,000 Tons of Mobile Phone E-Waste Created Each Year

According to the Press Release, “Of the 4 billion wireless subscribers in the world, only 1 percent of them recycle their handsets. In the US alone, 130 million phones are retired each year. The global e-waste problem is substantial and growing, and is the target of eRecyclingCorps, a new Dallas-based company that made its debut today at CTIA. The company will help carriers buy back used handsets from consumers and ensure they are resold or responsibly recycled.

eRecyclingCorps is transforming the wireless device ecosystem by working with carriers to establish comprehensive buy-back programs that are customized and scalable. The company deploys a web-based platform that integrates directly into the point of sale system at carrier retail stores, where 60 percent of all US phones are sold. It makes valuable consumer trade-in incentives, efficient in-store collection and strict privacy controls an integral part of every new phone purchase. By partnering with eRecyclingCorps, carriers can reclaim subsidies, increase customer loyalty, and significantly reduce downstream e-waste.

Sprint, the first carrier to use eRecyclingCorps, has deployed the system in 1,100 company owned Sprint stores and 1,400 Sprint Preferred Dealers and through its online channels. Sprint’s buyback program gives customers an instant account credit for trading in eligible wireless devices. Sprint has announced an ambitious goal to achieve a wireless reuse and recycling rate of 90 percent as compared to device sales by 2017.”

Source: Press Release

Some interesting facts attached to it:

• Globally, only 1 percent of mobile phones are recycled (Source: USGS)
• Of the 275 million US mobile phone users, only 10 percent recycle (Source: EPA)
• 98 percent of consumers will recycle if they are given incentives (Source: ABI Research)
• E-waste is fastest growing waste stream in US (Source: EPA)
• Recycling 1 million mobile phones can provide 185 households with electricity for 1 year (Source: EPA)
• Nationwide, 130 million cellular phones go out of use annually (Source: EPA), creating an estimated 65,000 tons of electronic garbage