Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to help address the e-waste problem in China by developing an app that enables Chinese consumers to sell their old electronics easily.
Baidu Recycle Station
The Chinese company and the UNDP established a new lab and launched the web-based app called “Baidu Recycle Station” on Monday. Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) would be able to help curb the e-waste problem in China with the app.
According to a study conducted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), China is one of the countries that produce the largest amount of toxic e-waste. China is the largest producer of e-waste. The country produces approximately 2.3 million ton of e-waste every year.
The report from the UNEP indicated that the majority of e-waste in China are handled improperly. The international agency noted that most of the electronic wastes are “incinerated by backyard recyclers to recover valuable metals like gold, practices that release steady plumes of far-reaching toxic pollution and yield very low metal recovery rates compared to state-of-the-art industrial facilities.”
Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) is hoping that the Baidu Recycle Station app would be able to help promote legitimate recycling centers that offer proper prices for old electronics. Many Chinese consumers are still selling their stuff to local street merchants buying old electronics for valuable metals, but practices improper disposal of e-waste that leads to pollution.
Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) and the UNDP collaborated with TCL, a Chinese electronics vendor to handle the recycling of old electronics. Consumers who want to sell their old electronics can use the Baidu Recycling Station app to upload a photo of their electronics, receive an estimated price and arrange a pick-up from TCL.
The Baidu Recycling Station app is already available for consumers in Beijing and Tianjin. The Chinese search engine giant is planning to release the app to other cities in the country in the future.
Baidu, UNDP joint lab open for partnerships
Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) and the UNDP are encouraging the Chinese government, academics, and other entities to join their lab to develop future projects. The lab is intended ti create programs that would help resolve problems related to the environment, education, healthcare and other initiatives using Baidu’s internet services and data analytics.
via: PCWorld
