Internet and apps boosting businesses

China has a wide range of electronic-waste business models, from collection to dismantling and further processing, based on easier access to the internet. The developments are fueling the growth of environmentally friendly platforms for discarded e-waste.

Li Ting, 32, from the Xicheng district of Beijing, never realized that selling her obsolete washing machine would be as easy as simply submitting an application via an app on her phone and waiting for the collector to arrive at the appointed date.

"It took less than 10 minutes to finish the deal, instead of passively waiting for mobile collectors in the community, which could take months," she said, adding that before the app came online she didn't have time to sell an old microwave oven, so she simply dumped it in a garbage pile.