Ecoatm
Mark Bowles, a serial entrepreneur, is the founder and owner of ecoATM, which is a fully automated self-serve kiosk that buys back electronics from consumers in exchange for cash or store credit. Bowles’ strives to reduce the e-waste (electronic waste) problem not only in the U.S. but eventually worldwide. The U.S. alone disposes more than 384 million units of e-waste annually (). Prior to ecoATM , there were few practical options for consumers to responsibly recycle and sell their devices. Which means that majority of these devices ended up in landfills that spews out haserdest eWaste substances, like lead, beryllium, and mercury, into the environment (). To solve this technological environmental problem, Bowles came up with the idea of a collection kiosk (which was inspired of Constar’s change-counting machines) that dished out cash (inspired by ATMs) in exchange for used or broken electronic devices. That in a nutshell, is how Bowles and his co-founders came up with the idea of ecoATM in the efforts for e-waste reduction. These ecoATM kiosks uses patented, electronic diagnostics, advanced machine vision, and artificial intelligence that evaluates the electronics and buys back the used electronics directly from the consumer for store credit or cash. The system’s artificial intelligence can calculate the value of more than 4,000 different mobile phones, MP3 digital music players, and computer tablets. Cameras make a visual assessment of the device, while a series of electronic plugs are used to determine whether or not their are electrical damage present. In turn, ecoATM resells 75% of the devices to refurbishers and the remaining 25% go to certified e-waste recyclers (). This new venture is very attractive because EcoATM kiosks offer customers enough incentive and convenience for customers to resell and recycle their phones, MP3 players, and tablets. Consumers can now gain cash for their unwanted electronic devices and feel good that they are