EcoATM, the San Diego start-up company known for kiosks that buy back and recycle electronics, has added laptop computers to its recycle list at kiosks in Nebraska Furniture Mart locations in Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City, Kan., according an ecoATM press release.
Nebraska Furniture Mart is offering incentives between $50 and $100 for any used laptop, working or not, toward the purchase of a new Intel-based laptop.
In addition to laptops, ecoATM kiosks already accept mobile phones, MP3 players, iPods and video games.
EcoATM is also partnering with the National Cristina Foundation, a nonprofit organization that matches donated computer equipment with needy schools and nonprofit organizations around the world. The program will help place the laptops back into use with American school children and physically-challenged individuals who cannot afford to buy them.
Laptops destined for reuse will undergo data sanitization processes and be redistributed locally for a token recycling fee. Computers unfit for recycling 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.
