[April 20, 2018]

Phobio's Device Trade-In Program Prevents Millions of Pounds of E-Waste from Reaching Landfills

Phobio, a leading provider of software and services that empower the retail industry, today announced that the company prevented a total of 577.9 tons of waste from entering landfills in 2017 with their device trade-in program, SafeTrade. Phobio partners with key retailers throughout the United States to facilitate trade-ins, a process that ensures smartphones and computers are either refurbished and resold, or recycled, preventing unwanted devices from ending up in landfills.

Currently, there are 2.3 billion smartphone users worldwide and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, as many as 130 million mobile devices are discarded each year. With the number of smartphone users continuing to grow, e-waste in the U.S. is growing at an annual rate of 8%. Additionally, the International Telecommunications Union reports that the amount of global e-waste generated in 2016 was 44.7 million metric tons and is expected to increase to 52.2 million metric tons by 2021.

As consumers have ability to upgrade to a new device every one or two years, Phobio realized the need for a service that would effectively and efficiently recycle devices to prevent added aste to the earth. To showcase its findings, the company has conducted extensive research alongside its program that is now available for use, which justifies the short lifecycle of smartphones and why users should utilize recycling programs.

"We're thrilled with the outcome and success of SafeTrade in 2017," said Stephen Wakeling, CEO and Co-Founder of Phobio. "We have been instrumental in recycling over a million devices which has an extremely positive impact on the environment. Additionally, many of these devices are recycled or refurbished, eliminating e-waste from hitting landfills."

Phobio's SafeTrade program has made it possible to not only prevent additional e-waste, but it benefits both the consumer and the retailer by providing incentives through the trade-in process. With the rising price of smartphones, consumers are now inclined to trade-in old devices in exchange for cash - the average currently being $92 for iOS and Android (News - Alert) devices. The retailers are then able to refurbish and resell devices, which has ultimately resulted in extending the lifecycle of mobile devices up to three times.

SafeTrade is a flexible, omni-channel trade-in platform for retailers that revolutionizes the way consumers and businesses upgrade to the latest technology. As a channel-agnostic trade-in experience, SafeTrade allows customers to upgrade in store, online, or begin a trade in one channel and complete it in another. SafeTrade increases customer spending power with the most competitive, transparent device pricing in the industry.

To learn more about SafeTrade visit: https://phobio.com/safetrade.

About Phobio

Headquartered in Atlanta, Phobio offers software and services that enable retail brands to transform how they engage with customers and employees and disrupt their respective marketplace. Founded in 2010, the company's product portfolio includes SafeTrade, an omni-channel software system that automates mobile device trade-ins, and Rodio, a workforce communication platform that closely aligns with an organization's hierarchical structure to exchange business-critical messages. The company's software is deployed at more than 4,500 locations, serves leading companies such as Apple, Samsung, Verizon (News - Alert) and Tracfone. For more information, visit: http://www.phobio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180420005508/en/

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