SAN DIEGO, April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1970,
Earth Day was originated to help save
the environment from air and water pollution, but today, the
celebration takes on a new meaning. Forty-seven percent of
Americans associate Earth Day with
recycling, while only 23 percent associate it with cleaning up
local parks or beaches – which most resembles the day's original
purpose – according to a survey from ecoATM, Inc., the nationwide
network of automated electronics recycling kiosks.
Recycling options have increased since the first Earth Day, and companies such as ecoATM are
giving consumers an incentive to do so; ecoATM offers instant cash
at the 1,890 kiosks nationwide for cell phones, tablets and MP3
players. Despite growth and widespread accessibility of recycling
programs, there are recyclable items still being thrown away.
Forty-four percent of Americans admitted to trashing batteries, in
addition to:
- Clothes (38 percent)
- Ink Cartridges (24 percent)
- Coins (six percent)
While 62 percent of Americans admitted to trashing recyclable
items, a relatively low number of those have tossed small
electronics: only eight percent have thrown away a cell phone, and
four percent an MP3 player.
"Thankfully, recycling gadgets has become more common than
trashing them; however lack of convenience and the potential of
using the device again were two main reasons cited from respondents
who choose not to recycle their devices," said Randy Erman, director of product marketing at
ecoATM. "Making recycling easier is one of the main reasons we
introduced ecoATM; we offer a safe and convenient place to recycle
small electronic devices that could otherwise contribute to e-waste
in our nation's landfills."
ecoATM® kiosks accept over 5,500 types of tablets, phones and
MP3 players, and have already collected more than four million
devices. To further incentivize device recycling, ecoATM is
increasing its payouts beginning April
7 to coincide with the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge
availability, offering even more instant cash and guaranteed price
minimums for Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6 devices.
For more information on pricing or to locate a kiosk, please
visit http://www.ecoatm.com/.
Methodology: The survey was conducted by Edelman Berland between March 15-18, 2015, and polled 1,000 general
consumers in the U.S.
About ecoATM
ecoATM, an Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq: OUTR) brand, is the first
company to create an automated self-serve kiosk system to buy back
old phones, tablets or MP3 players for cash. ecoATM uses patented,
advanced machine vision, electronic diagnostics, and artificial
intelligence to evaluate electronics. ecoATM® eCycling
stations provide a convenient trade-in solution with features that
validate sellers' identities and deter the sale of stolen phones,
and the company collaborates with national, state, and local
law-enforcement groups in combating mobile phone theft through
innovative use of technology and
education (http://www.ecoatm.com/law-enforcement/).
ecoATM holds Responsible Recycling (R2) and ISO14001
certification, confirming the company's commitment to maintaining
the highest standards of electronics recycling, as well as ISO27001
certification for information and personal data security. See
http://www.ecoatm.com/how-it-works/ for a video of how an ecoATM
kiosk works. For more information, visit www.ecoatm.com and
for more information about Outerwall Inc. please visit
www.outerwall.com.
About Outerwall Inc.
Outerwall Inc. (Nasdaq: OUTR) has more than 20 years of
experience creating some of the most profitable spaces for their
retail partners. Outerwall delivers breakthrough kiosk experiences
that delight consumers and generate revenue for retailers. As the
company that brought consumers Redbox® entertainment,
Coinstar® money services, and ecoATM®
electronics recycling kiosks, Outerwall is leading the next
generation of automated retail and paving the way for inventive,
scalable businesses. Outerwall™ kiosks are in neighborhood grocery
stores, drug stores, mass merchants, malls, and other retail
locations in the United States,
Canada, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Learn more at www.outerwall.com.
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SOURCE ecoATM