Finding extra greenbacks could be as simple as cleaning out the electronics graveyard you have stashed in a junk drawer or closet, thanks to ecoATM.

The big green and white box, similar to a Redbox movie rental kiosk, acts as a sort of an ATM, dispensing cash in exchange for old cellphones and mp3 players, even those that are broken.

EcoATMs that recently landed in the West Manchester Mall and the York Galleria are among about 20 in Pennsylvania. Ryan Kuder, director of marketing and communications for the privately held company, based in San Diego, said it was founded in 2008 by Mark Bowles, after Bowles learned that "only 3 percent of the cellphones in the world were being recycled."

"Americans buy about 150 million cellphones per year," Kuder said. Although the amount being recycled today has increased to between 10 percent and 20 percent, there are still millions of phones not being recycled annually.

Why not?

"That's what we're really trying to figure out," Kuder said. "We believe it's a combination of convenience and motivation.

"Some people just don't know what to do" with their old cellphones, he said. "Our belief is that by placing ecoATMs in places where people go regularly," recycling the old phones is convenient. "By providing them cash on the spot, we give them motivation."

The payment paid for a phone depends on the "world market" for that phone, Kuder said, and that is evaluated at the time a phone is being traded in.


"We use cameras, ... artificial intelligence, (etc.,) to evaluate the phones," Kuder said. Once it is identified, ecoATM finds out if there is market for the phone as it is, or if some components of the phone could be recycled.

"About 70 percent of the phones we take in, we're able to find a home (for them) as a phone again," Kuder said.

For anyone now questioning what's to stop someone from exchanging a stolen phone with ecoATM, the company has that covered. Among the security measures taken, a valid driver's license is needed to trade in a phone. That means no one under the age of 18 may use the service, and a phone may only be exchanged by its owner.

Although the company advises customers to wipe their phone prior to exchanging it, it won't sell any customer's information. Kuder said.

Jo Wilson recently commented on the York Daily Record/Sunday News Facebook page that her son traded in three phones "that were just sitting around the house."

Wilson didn't specify the brands or models but said her son got $160 for the three phones, "not bad for 20 minutes of his time."

This reaction is exactly what ecoATM wants, Kuder said.

"There's a lot of old devices out there that aren't being used, and what we're looking to do is to keep those out of the landfill," Kuder said. "Our hope is that we can do a lot of good to lessen the impact these devices have on the environment."

Growing numbers

The first ecoATM kiosk was rolled out in 2009 at a furniture mart in Nebraska, said Ryan Kuder, director of marketing and communications. Three months ago, about the time Kuder started working for the company, there were 140 ecoATMs nationwide. Today, there are roughly 300, and that number is growing.