Omaha, Neb. – Nebraska
Furniture Mart has added laptops to its kiosk-based CE recycling program.
The retailer first installed
the ATM-like recycling stations in October 2009. Developed by San Diego-based EcoATM, the
vendors accept and electronically and/or visually inspect used devices and
issue store credits or gift cards in return. The company administers trade-in
promotions for retailers and manufacturers, and sells the used handsets through
pre-auction/auction systems to secondary market buyers and recyclers.
Nebraska began the program
by accepting mobile phones and has since expanded it to other CE products,
including MP3 players and video games, at both its flagship Omaha and Kansas
City, Kan., superstores. The retailer is now offering incentives of between $50
and $100 for any used laptop, working or not, toward the purchase of a new
Intel i3, i5 or i7-based laptop.
Separately, EcoATM is
also partnering with the National Cristina Foundation, a non-profit
organization that matches donated computer equipment with needy schools and
nonprofit organizations around the world. The program will help place the
laptops back into reuse with American school kids and physically challenged
individuals who otherwise cannot afford access to the technologies.
Laptops destined for
reuse will undergo data sanitization processes, and will then be redistributed
locally for a token recycling fee. “We are proud to partner with National
Cristina Foundation, a leader in the reuse of computers serving underprivileged
markets throughout the U.S.,” said Tom Tullie, EcoATM’s chairman/CEO. “This
gives EcoATM a partner that supports thousands of charities nationwide,
maximizing legitimate product reuse whenever possible.”
Laptops that cannot be
recycled will be disassembled for materials reclamation and recycling. Toxic
heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and more are captured, ensuring
they do not contaminate the environment, while gold, silver, copper and others
are refined and reused, mitigating additional mining worldwide to source these
materials.
