(Waste 360, February 19, 2015)–The latest “pop the champagne” moment for Bellevue, Wash.-based Outerwall Inc. happened earlier this month when the company surpassed the 4 million mark in terms of the number cell phones, tablets, MP3 players and other electronic devices collected at its growing network of ecoATM kiosks.
Equally impressive is that the last time the company clinked glasses was just six months earlier in September for surpassing the 3 million mark with its automated device recycling kiosks, which rescue idle devices through a consumer friendly, cash-on-the-spot model at kiosks located in groceries, malls and big-box stores around the nation.
Through its 1,890 kiosks in 42 states, ecoATM is outpacing its online competitors—think Gazelle and uSell—and its own previous collection rate by two months.
“ecoATM is safe, fast and convenient way for consumers to go and recycle their e-waste,” says Randy Erman, director of product marketing at ecoATM, which was bought in 2014 by Outerwall and joined the automated family of Redbox and Coinstar. The company also experienced exponential growth in its collection capability by adding more than 1,000 kiosks last year. Texas has the most ecoATM kiosks, followed by Ohio, then California.