[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

ErecyclingCorps has raised $35 million in a fundraising round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The investment marks yet another milestone for eRecyclingCorps (ERC), which already counts Sprint and Verizon among the many customers of its “instant in-store credit” offering.

RC launched in 2009 with original investments from OpenAir Equity Partners and SJF Ventures to help carriers and subscribers recapture a growing portion of the residual value of wireless devices no longer used by subscribers.

Co-founded by former CEO of RadioShack, David Edmondson, and Ron LeMay, former CEO of Sprint PCS and current Managing Director of OpenAir Equity Partners, ERC’s initial model centers around a proprietary Web-based platform that integrates directly into the point-of-sale system at carrier retail stores, where 60 per cent of all U.S. wireless devices are sold. The company has grown to completing more than 2.5 million device trades annually since its inception in 2009.

According to the EPA, 130 million wireless devices are retired each year in the U.S. alone, but only 10 percent are recycled.

[Original upload date: 01-24-12]