LINE

    Text:AAAPrint
    Feature

    Recycling sites mining fortunes from e-waste

    1
    2015-10-21 11:03China Daily Editor: Wang Fan
    Piles of discarded mobile phones and chargers collected by a recycling vendor in Qingdao, Shandong province. (Photo/China Daily])

    Piles of discarded mobile phones and chargers collected by a recycling vendor in Qingdao, Shandong province. (Photo/China Daily])

    Firms that recycle tons of old gadgets may hit pay dirt if subsidies and venture capital come their way, say experts

    Ever wondered what happens to millions of old mobile phones, laptops and other assorted hardware junk as a billion-plus consumers buy new devices every once in a while?

    Well, these days, old devices, millions of them, find their way to online platforms such as Aihuishou.com and Ihuigo.com. Such platforms either channel them to recycling firms if they are deemed low-value items or resell them as used-goods at attractive prices.

    Chen Xuefeng, founder and CEO of Aihuishou.com, an online electronic products recycling platform, said: "At present, about 10,000 mobile phones are recycled every day on our platform. When iPhone 6S was released not long ago, that number more than doubled to over 20,000 per day."

    About 20,000 mobile phones are recycled each month on Ihuigo.com, which was established in 2010 by Zhou Xu. The company brokers deals valued at up to 20 million yuan each month. On its site, the average price of a recycling deal is 800 yuan.

    That recycling of discarded electronic products has become a legitimate business has been known for some time. But what is little known is that the business is now attracting serious funding from investors.

    In August, Aihuishou.com, which connects electronics consumers with recyclers, secured $60 million in Series-C funding from Tiantu Capital, JD.com and Greenwoods Investment.

    Chen and Sun Wenjun, both Shanghai-based Fudan University graduates, founded Aihuishou.com in 2011. "E-waste recycling is a huge market. In the past, the cell phone recycling trade relied on individual vendors who lacked transparency and credibility," said Chen.

    It is a view that finds echo in even consumers such as Song Wei, a 50-year-old Apple fan from Shanxi province.

    Song is considering upgrading to an iPhone 6S from iPhone 5. "I plan to sell my old phone. But I don't trust street vendors who engage in mobile phone recycling. I will probably choose a formal channel that offers a clear price for old phones."

    Chen's assurance should comfort Song. "Online recycling platforms provide users with a reliable recycling channel with transparent prices as per different models, colors and functions of mobile phones."

    Scope for such activity is enormous. China has 1.286 billion mobile phone users in 2014. Some 452 million mobile phones were shipped domestically in 2014. New mobile subscribers last year were only 56.98 million.

      

    Related news

    MorePhoto

    Most popular in 24h

    MoreTop news

    MoreVideo

    News
    Politics
    Business
    Society
    Culture
    Military
    Sci-tech
    Entertainment
    Sports
    Odd
    Features
    Biz
    Economy
    Travel
    Travel News
    Travel Types
    Events
    Food
    Hotel
    Bar & Club
    Architecture
    Gallery
    Photo
    CNS Photo
    Video
    Video
    Learning Chinese
    Learn About China
    Social Chinese
    Business Chinese
    Buzz Words
    Bilingual
    Resources
    ECNS Wire
    Special Coverage
    Infographics
    Voices
    LINE
    Back to top Links | About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
    Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
    Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
    主站蜘蛛池模板: 防城港市| 凭祥市| 吉隆县| 阿坝| 大城县| 土默特右旗| 三河市| 横山县| 贵州省| 三台县| 逊克县| 闻喜县| 什邡市| 兰州市| 清水河县| 尉氏县| 涞水县| 密山市| 专栏| 天祝| 明星| 葫芦岛市| 土默特右旗| 西和县| 且末县| 南投市| 陕西省| 定西市| 桂林市| 咸宁市| 泰宁县| 通榆县| 饶平县| 广昌县| 苗栗市| 章丘市| 芦溪县| 洛扎县| 锡林郭勒盟| 汪清县| 长治市|