US$ 35 million funding for e-waste firm

United States – E-waste management company eRecyclingCorps (ERC) has secured US$ 35 million in funding, led by investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The US company was founded in 2009 by former RadioShack CEO David Edmondson and former Sprint PCS CEO and current Managing Director of OpenAir Equity Partners Ron LeMay, with investments from OpenAir Equity Partners and S.J.F. Ventures. It has since gained Verizon and Sprint as customers for its ‘instant in-store credit’ incentive plan for the recycling of phased-out mobile devices.

ERC looks to create opportunities to recycle the 130 million mobile devices discarded each year in the USA in a manner that benefits both mobile carriers and customers; currently, only some 10% of such devices are recycled, according to estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ERC works through a web-based platform that applies credits for old mobile devices towards the sale of new ones at participating carrier retail stores, where 60% of all US wireless devices are sold. It trades more than 2.5 million every year. The company complies with EPA guidelines, including the implementation of a ‘zero landfill’ policy. It refurbishes devices and then offers them for reuse. ‘We partner with Level 3 and 4 certified device processing, repair and refurbishment operations,’ states the company’s website. ‘This ensures not only industry-leading renewal, but also a strict data clearing and privacy approach.’

The company also indicates on its website that recycled mobile devices are reused by ‘people in developing countries with limited means’.