Avoid E-waste by Recycling Electronics with NextWorth

Apr 15, 2013
Katherine Sweet

To do: buy new iPhone. Upgrade laptop. Purchase latest tablet. Consumers constantly want the latest gadgets and gizmos. But what happens when it is out with the old and in with the new? Far too often, old electronics are carted off to rot in landfills, leaking toxic chemicals into the soil and groundwater. In the name of this year’s Earth Month, try a different approach than chucking your obsolete phone in the trash bin. NextWorth is willing to give you cash for everything from your old cell phone to your outdated MP3 player.

“NextWorth was started in an effort to give people an easy, safe, responsible way to get maximum value for their used electronics. Our hope is to change the way people buy consumer electronics, so they first think what they can get for their old device before purchasing their next one,” Jeff Trachsel, CMO of NextWorth, said.

The statistics are startling. In 2010, about 152 million mobile phones were discarded in the United States alone. A mere 17 million of these were recycled. That means 135 million in landfills, polluting the environment and exposing consumers to hazardous chemicals.

Simply log on to NextWorth and receive an instant quote based on the product you wish to discard. Customers may then send in their old devices directly from their home using a printed out, pre-paid shipping label. NextWorth will evaluate its condition and mail you the payment. All that is left to do is to feel good about your recycling as you make your way to the bank. For the more altruistic at heart, outdated devices can be donated to local recycling centers.

The company recycles the device for you, reusing the item’s materials, such as gold, copper, plastics and glass. Working products are shipped off to poor countries to generate business opportunities and facilitate communication.

“E-waste is a growing issue that needs to be addressed through a combination of measures, one of which is consumer electronics trade-in and recycling. When we buy new cell phones or other electronic devices, what happens to all of the old or broken gadgets? Without taking the time to properly dispose of them, those devices get thrown away, creating e-waste. As the number of personal devices has grown, so has the amount of e-waste,” Trachsel said.

The industry is driven not only by environmental sympathies but cold, hard cash: Globally speaking, the secondary electronic market is worth $185 billion. National retailers have hopped on board with reuse programs, creating trade-in options that are used in more than 2,200 U.S. locations.

In honor of Earth Month, NextWorth is giving away a free eco-friendly iPad case and offering 10 percent off on trade-ins through the end of the month. Check it out at www.nextworth.com.