Next month, electronic waste solutions startup Edispo is launching their digital marketplace for old smartphones, laptops, equipment, and other dated electronics. According to founder Jim De Castro, the launch follows months of partnership-building with junk shops, recycling plants, and public sector institutions. Through these partnerships, De Castro hopes to establish the right ecosystem to transition Filipinos towards more environmentally-sustainable methods of dealing with e-waste.
Last year, De Castro came up with the idea for Edispo when, in the midst of the nation’s rolling community lockdowns, he found himself unable to properly dispose of his air conditioning unit. Driving from junk shop to junk shop, receiving varying quotes as low as P400, De Castro understood the frustration most Filipinos feel when managing their electronic waste—a frustration that, for those with less access than De Castro, often ends with these electronics simply thrown away.
According to the latest data from Statista, roughly 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste was produced globally in 2019 alone, an increase of 44.4 million metric tons in just five years. Of that number, only 17.4% was collected and properly recycled. This e-waste generation is steadily rising, led largely by Asian countries, including the Philippines.
Some estimates, including this one from Statista, value the Philippine waste collection sector at roughly $63.9 million by 2024. But this fails to account for the majority of waste collection outfits, operating outside the regulatory reach of institutions like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). In 2017, the Quezon City government estimated that only 11% of the junk shops operating in the municipality were actually registered. The result: extremely hazardous materials potentially mishandled, contaminating landfills and seeping into water supplies. An environmentalist at heart, De Castro decided there had to be a better way.
Edispo is a digital marketplace that aims to change Filipinos’ behavior around e-waste. Catering first to households—which De Castro says contributes 79% of the nation’s e-waste—Edispo allows users to list their old electronics for a limited time and connect with potential buyers like local junk shops, free-of-charge. De Castro hopes that the lack of transaction fees for these relatively lower-value goods will incentivize more users to come onboard their platform.
For larger scale operations, like businesses looking to offload dated equipment in bulk, premium features such as batch listings can be purchased on a subscription basis. In the future, premium users will also be able to pay for extended listings, having their posts appear on buyers’ dashboards for longer. In addition to premium features, Edispo also plans to generate advertising revenues from businesses looking to reach their on-platform community.
By having users list their old electronics as goods for sale, Edispo aims to help Filipinos recognize that their e-waste still holds value, and therefore shouldn’t be haphazardly discarded. According to De Castro, this mission to change how Filipinos engage with e-waste has resonated with the incumbents currently leading the space. The startup is currently in early talks with a number of public sector partners to help champion their solution nationwide.
Among these partners are local government units, including Quezon City, as well as the DENR. De Castro says that, through Edispo, the DENR will be able to more meaningfully engage with the informal junk shop operations around the country, helping them transition to safer, more environmentally-friendly systems. Meanwhile, Edispo plans to scale their operations through the DENR by striking partnerships with their accredited recycling plants across different regions.
Edispo’s digital marketplace is slated to go live on February 22, 2022.