A Good Call

After years of working for companies such as Oracle, EMC and Hewlett-Packard, the husband-and-wife team of Chris and Tonia Irion launched e-Cycle, a wireless device recycling company, in 2004.

“We specialize in recycling retired cell phones—especially high-value smart phones,” she says of e-Cycle. These devices contain toxic materials as well as sensitive personal and professional information, so proper handling is a priority, Tonia adds.

E-Cycle was recently recognized by Inc. magazine, ranking at No. 763 on the 2010 Inc. 5000. E-Cycle ranked eighth overall among the nation’s environmental services companies based on business growth from 2006 to 2009, achieving a 400 percent three-year growth rate.

Tonia tells Recycling Today more about e-Cycle below.

Q: What makes you different from your competitors?
A: Other programs have begun to address these issues for consumers, but at e-Cycle we believe that the most pressing need lies with large and mid-size organizations. They have the most to gain from recovering their investments in wireless technology and the most to lose from not protecting sensitive corporate data. And they have a major responsibility to ensure their wireless equipment does not harmfully impact the local environment. That is why we have become the market share leader of the Fortune 1000.

Q: What is your business philosophy?
A: We aim to educate businesses on the critical nature of these issues and the severe environmental risks that are involved if there isn’t a program in place. We partner with them so they can address the issue adequately for years to come.