One of the largest retailers in the country has joined forces with the WRAP initiative in an effort to make sure no devices get left behind gathering dust. The WRAP initiative is a registered charity whose goal is to change the way everybody thinks about resource usage. Their three main priorities are Food and Drink, Clothing and Textiles, and Electricals/Electronics, the latter being one of the main reasons I should imagine that they have teamed with Argos.
Argos will be introducing a new ‘product recycling scheme’, this scheme will allow their customers to get a quote or exchange on their old unwanted mobile and tablet devices in order to gain money off in store. As of today, this service will be available in all 788 of the Argos UK stores.
The launch itself seems heavily bolstered from surveys taken by the WRAP initiative which claim that UK householders are estimated to be sitting on over £1 Billion worth of electrical and electronic equipment. This equipment is, of course, not being used anymore for the most part, so, in theory, this sounds fantastic for the consumer. One of WRAP’s recent surveys found that two-thirds of those surveyed would be willing to trade in their tech products with reputable retailers.
Using the service seems as easy as pie too. Customers can simply walk into any Argos store, drop off their unwanted tech (initially limited to phones and tablets), and receive an instant quotation. If they then choose to trade it in they will receive an Argos gift card and the exchanged items will be refurbished in the UK and then resold.
“As a leading technology retailer we know that our customers are looking for solutions to responsibly dispose of unwanted gadgets when they replace or trade-up devices,” said Amy Whidburn, Argos’ head of corporate responsibility.
“Our new scheme in conjunction with WRAP offers them a safe way to do this, in a really convenient location on their local high street or retail park, with the added benefit of receiving a gift card in return immediately.”