RSSAn Eco ATM That Takes Your Old Electronics
December 18, 2009 · Written by Adam
Sort of a reverse cash machine, the Eco ATM takes your old electronics off you and then credits you what it’s worth.
Available only in America at the moment, the Eco ATM is an automated reuse-and-recycle machine that helps people get rid of old gadgets while making it financially rewarding for them to do so as well. A bit like when you put your old mobile phone in the post and then get either cash or reward points, instead of posting you feed it into the Eco ATM.
The device then analyses the phone and gives it a value – which could be store credit (depending on where it’s situated), you could choose to donate it to charity, or if it’s not worth anything then it will be recycled.
The Eco ATM will soon take MP3 players, digital cameras, computers etc as well as mobile phones. The easier they make it to recycle, the more people will do it, and this sounds pretty easy.
Spotted via Springwise.
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We Americans like convenience and this ATM seems to satisfy that part of the e ecycle problem. Normally we have to pay to recycle electronics so its nice to see a program that gives cash as an incentive. I hope to see one in my area soon
This is a wonderful idea. I have never seen it or heard of it before. But I hope they will have one around my area. I see they have one around San Diego but that is still far from here. I have a lot of old electronic devices that I may want to get rid of and I bet there are a lot of people who have old electronic stuff lying around.
Thanks Alicia and Jen, I haven’t used it personally though the San Diego one is fairly near me. Perhaps it will catch on in more locations soon.
This is a fantastic idea! THe best way to get people to do something is to provide an incentive and I’m guessing the company get something out of it too so it’s win-win.