As consumers and corporations strive to minimize environmental impact, the self-service industry is addressing the issue from the ground up. Eco-friendly kiosks are cropping up everywhere, enabling users to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint. In addition, kiosk manufacturers, service vendors and deployers are implementing new business practices to boost sustainability.
This two-part series explores the positive impact of "green" self-service kiosks and efforts by industry leaders to help build a low-impact future.
Innovative Kiosks Driving Consumer Behavior, Positive Change, Carbon Reduction
By offering convenient ways to do adopt behaviors such as using alternative transportation and recycling, the self-service industry is helping consumers cut carbon emissions. Kiosks to rent bikes, recycle various items or surf the Internet on solar power are empowering individuals to tackle global concerns such as pollution, e-waste and energy usage. For example:
- Hundreds of mobile phones — and the precious metals inside them — are recycled daily at ecoATM kiosks in the San Diego area.
- Thousands of calories – instead of petroleum – are burned monthly by commuters renting bikes at B-cycle's eCycling Stations in Denver and Chicago.
- More than one million plastic water bottles were collected this year in Greenopolis machines inside Whole Foods stores across the U.S.
Efforts like that add up, experts say.
"Buying one cell phone might not seem like it uses that many resources, but ultimately there are about 4 billion cell phones in use right now," University of California professor Bill Tomlinson said during a recent panel discussion hosted by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. "The average American gets a new cell phone about every 17 months. That's a big pile of dead cell phones at the end of the day."
In his book, "Greening Through IT" (MIT Press, 2010), Tomlinson contends that technology can drive worldwide change by multiplying the actions of individuals.
To encourage more consumers to recycle phones, ecoATM is rolling out kiosks that pay users with cash and/or a contribution to a charity of their choice, along with trade-in/trade-up promotions, coupons and other incentives offered by retailers and OEMs. That's a big perk compared to traditional phone buy-back programs that require people to mail-in old phones.
"Our solution makes it really convenient and beneficial for the consumer to recycle because they don't have to mail in their phone or wait for a check to hopefully show up in the mail," said Mark Bowles, an ecoATM founder and the company's chief marketing executive.
Currently 10 ecoATM kiosks in San Diego are collecting an average of 20 phones daily in each machine, Bowles said.
"Solving the eWaste problem on a broad scale requires the collaboration of the OEMs that make the devices, the retailers that sell them, and the consumers that buy and retire them," according to ecoATM's mission statement on its website. "With $25 billion in latent consumer assets available to mine and use as the incentive for all stakeholders in the chain, ecoATM will dramatically alter the current life-cycle of consumer electronics much the way 1970's redemption value laws on bottles and cans dramatically changed their life-cycle. Given the enormous under served worldwide demand for used mobile phones and other electronics, and the enormous and perpetually growing cache of these devices cluttering the homes of US consumers, a rare opportunity exists to build an enterprise which benefits consumers, retailers, OEMs and the environment alike."
Although ecoATM won Coinstar Inc.'s "Big Idea" contest earlier this year, it's not the only award-winning solution gaining momentum. For example, Greenopolis is expanding its network of water bottle recycling kiosks.
Bike rental kiosks are also growing in popularity from Miami Beach to Beijing, allowing commuters to replace petro with peddle power. Leaders include B-cycle, which is partnering with vendor KIOSK Information Systems to launch a network of rental stations that utilize off-grid solar power and low-power consumption components. After rolling out kiosks this year in Denver and Chicago, the company is asking consumers to help pinpoint future expansion by voting online in a "Who Wants It More?" campaign.
Other types of kiosks are also creating more sustainable communities. For example, Orlando, Fla.-based Blue Wave unveiled a self-service ice and water vending kiosk this month that reportedly slashes the impact of current bottled water and ice distribution methods. In another diverse use, GreenDiary.com recently reported that a solar-powered kiosk installed this year in a rural African village is allowing youth to hone computer skills and market locally-made products such as solar-powered lanterns.
With so many innovative devices being introduced, the self-service industry is poised to make substantial contributions toward positive environmental change.
Coming next in Kiosks: Going Green:
"Inside the industry: Energy efficiency, refurbished components, local suppliers boost sustainability"
　
