GreenCitizen

What GreenCitizen does

GreenCitizen is a Certified B Corporation electronics recycling and IT asset disposition company founded on April 22, 2005 by James W. Kao, operating from its flagship Burlingame EcoCenter in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company serves three primary customer segments: Bay Area businesses (office cleanouts, IT room refreshes, data center decommissions, ITAD, building-wide events), Bay Area residents (drive-thru drop-off), and nationwide customers (mail-in service). Service offerings include business on-site pickup within a 35-mile radius, drive-thru drop-off, building-wide pickup events, hard drive data destruction (software erasure and physical destruction), product/prototype destruction, ITAD with 50/50 profit sharing on refurbished asset resale, mail-in recycling, and Styrofoam (#6 EPS) recycling.

The company's core technology is GTAMS (GreenCitizen Total Accountability Management System), a proprietary tracking platform in continuous operation for over 20 years that assigns unique asset IDs to every major item, generating a digital chain of custody, certificates of destruction, and audit-ready ESG and sustainability reports. GTAMS underwrites compliance with DoD 5220.22-M and NIST SP 800-88 Rev.1 data destruction standards, and all processing is performed exclusively through R2 and e-Stewards certified downstream vendors within the United States — no items are exported overseas or sent to landfill.

GreenCitizen's revenue model is primarily transaction- and unit-fee based: free recycling for computers, monitors, and network equipment; $1/lb for peripherals and small appliances; $6/lb for magnetic/optical media; $5-$35 per device for data destruction services; $305 per building-wide pickup event; and a marketplace-commission / profit-sharing component via ITAD resale on eBay and Amazon. Distribution runs through three channels: the physical EcoCenter (regional), field sales for enterprise pickup (regional), and mail-in (national). The company is privately held, 100% self-sustaining (no government funding or donations), employs 11-50 staff, and reports cumulative metrics of 33.9 million pounds recycled, 74,845 businesses served, and 414,057 individuals served since inception.

Name

GreenCitizen

Legal name

GreenCitizen, Inc.

Website

https://greencitizen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GreenCitizen is a Bay Area-based, B Corp-certified electronics recycler and ITAD provider serving businesses, residents, and nationwide mail-in customers with certified data destruction, IT asset disposition profit-sharing, and a proprietary GTAMS chain-of-custody tracking platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electronics Recycling Services

NAICS

Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622), Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Materials Recovery Facilities (56292)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) & Data Destruction (EUAIAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Enterprise Hardware Recycling (Servers, Storage, Networking) (BPALAIAI), Data Destruction Services (On-site/Off-site, Media Sanitization) (BPALAIAC), Certified Compliance & Reporting Services (R2/e-Stewards, Audit, ESG) (BPALAIAL)

Keywords

• Electronics recycling services
• E-waste management
• IT asset disposition
• Secure data destruction
• Responsible recycling

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Electronics Recycling Fees: GreenCitizen charges fees for processing certain electronics. Items accepted free of charge include laptops, desktops, servers, monitors, TVs, tablets, phones, and network switches. Fee-based items include printers, keyboards, cables, small appliances ($1.00/lb), and media such as CDs, DVDs, VHS, cassette tapes, and floppy disks ($6.00/lb). Refrigerators cost $130 (full-size) or $65 (mini). Styrofoam #6 EPS is accepted for $5 per 30-gallon bag.
2. Data Destruction Services: Secure data erasure and physical destruction services. Software-based data erasure for functional drives costs $5/drive. Physical hard drive destruction costs $20/drive. Tape/media destruction costs $20/unit. Cell phone and tablet physical destruction costs $35/device. Certificate of Destruction is available for an additional $5/unit. Free data erasure is provided for 2021 or newer working Apple and non-Apple computers.
3. Building-Wide Pickup Services: Building managers or property managers can contract for building-wide electronics recycling events. Pricing is $305 per pickup for one-time, monthly, quarterly, or annual building-wide events. Additional fees apply for hard drive destruction, oversized items, items over 100 lbs, floor-standing copiers, and microwaves.
4. ITAD (IT Asset Disposition): For ITAD-qualified items (minimum $50/item value, $5,000+ combined resale value), GreenCitizen provides free pickup and free data wiping, then refurbishes, tests, and resells items (via eBay, Amazon, etc.). Net profits are shared 50/50 with the customer. Non-qualified items are eligible for data destruction at regular fees. Costs deducted from gross revenue include labor, DoD-compliant data wiping, testing, marketplace fees, packing/shipping, and return provisions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GreenCitizen operates a Bay Area-focused electronics recycling and IT asset disposition business from its flagship Burlingame EcoCenter, offering on-site business pickups, drive-thru drop-off, building-wide events, secure hard drive data destruction, product/IP destruction, Styrofoam recycling, ITAD with profit sharing, and nationwide mail-in service. All processing is performed by R2 and e-Stewards certified U.S.-based downstream vendors with item-level tracking through its proprietary GTAMS platform, zero overseas export or landfill, and DoD/NIST-compliant data destruction.

Product overview

GreenCitizen is an electronics recycling company offering a unified service portfolio centered on responsible e-waste management for the San Francisco Bay Area. The core offering consists of multiple service channels: Business Recycling Pickup (on-site collection within 35 miles), Electronics Recycling Drop-Off (drive-thru at Burlingame EcoCenter), Building-Wide Pickup (bulk events), Hard Drive Data Destruction (software erasure and physical shredding), Product Destruction (prototype/IP protection), IT Asset Disposition (ITAD with profit-sharing), and Mail-In Electronics Recycling (nationwide). Supporting these services is GTAMS (GreenCitizen Total Accountability Management System), a proprietary tracking platform that provides item-level serialization and ESG reporting. The company also offers Styrofoam Recycling using a Plastic Foam Densifier. All services emphasize U.S.-based processing, R2/e-Stewards certified vendors, and DoD/NIST-compliant data destruction standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GTAMS (GreenCitizen Total Accountability Management System): Proprietary tracking system that follows each device from pickup to final, U.S.-based processing with unique asset IDs.
• Burlingame EcoCenter
• Green Directory
• GreenCitizen for Public Schools

Products and services

• Business Recycling Pickup Scheduled on-site pickup service for businesses within a 35-mile radius of the Burlingame EcoCenter, with free pickup for qualifying inventories of 5+ items including laptops, desktops, servers, and monitors. Same-Day (before 11 AM) and Immediate (within 24 hours) options available.
• Electronics Recycling Drop-Off No-appointment drive-thru drop-off service at the Burlingame EcoCenter for residents and businesses to recycle electronics, with free acceptance of computers, monitors, TVs, tablets, phones, and network switches, and fee-based items such as printers, keyboards, small appliances ($1.00/lb) and media ($6.00/lb).
• Building-Wide Pickup Bulk electronics recycling pickup service for residential buildings and businesses, allowing property managers to coordinate suite-to-suite collection events for tenants at $305 per pickup on a one-time, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis.
• Hard Drive Data Destruction Secure data destruction service for hard drives and media, offering software-based data erasure ($5/drive) and physical destruction ($20/drive) aligned with DoD 5220.22-M and NIST SP 800-88 standards, with optional Certificate of Destruction ($5/unit).
• Product Destruction Certified shredding service for IT equipment, prototypes, and proprietary products to safeguard intellectual property, featuring on-site pickup and a Certificate of Destruction.
• Styrofoam Recycling Recycling service for Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) #6 foam using a Plastic Foam Densifier (PFD) XT200 machine that converts Styrofoam into ingots for manufacturing applications such as picture frames and rulers; $5 per 30-gallon bag for clean block foam.
• IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) Full-service ITAD program enabling businesses to responsibly dispose of qualified IT assets (minimum $50/item value, $5,000+ combined resale value) while earning revenue through 50/50 profit sharing on resold equipment, with free data destruction and GTAMS chain-of-custody tracking.
• Mail-In Electronics Recycling Nationwide mail-in recycling service allowing customers outside the Bay Area to ship electronics for responsible recycling, with secure data destruction options and Certificate of Destruction issued upon processing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 33,978,442 pounds of electronics recycled since 2005, with zero exports overseas or landfill disposal
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• R2-Certified Downstream VendorscoreTechnology or IntegrationGreenCitizen partners exclusively with R2 (Responsible Recycling) certified downstream vendors for processing all collected electronics. These certified partners handle demanufacturing and material recovery within the United States, ensuring compliance with environmental and data security standards throughout the recycling chain.
• e-Stewards Certified Downstream VendorscoreTechnology or IntegrationGreenCitizen partners exclusively with e-Stewards certified downstream vendors, all based in the United States. This ensures that nothing collected is ever exported overseas or sent to a landfill. The e-Stewards standard, administered by the Basel Action Network, is among the most stringent in the industry.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ERI (Electronic Recyclers International): ERI is one of the largest U.S. e-waste recyclers, operating certified facilities nationwide with R2 and e-Stewards credentials. It is directly comparable to GreenCitizen in service scope (data destruction, ITAD, certified recycling) but with a national footprint that GreenCitizen lacks.
• CompuCycle: CompuCycle is a Texas-headquartered R2-certified ITAD and e-waste recycler offering secure data destruction and asset recovery. It is comparable to GreenCitizen in business model and certification stack, though operating in a different geography (Houston/Texas market).
• Apto Solutions: Apto Solutions is a national ITAD provider specializing in enterprise IT asset management, data sanitization, and resale. It serves a comparable enterprise customer base and offers similar data-destruction and chain-of-custody capabilities as GreenCitizen.
• HOBI International: HOBI is a Texas-based IT asset management and e-waste recycling company offering data destruction, ITAD, and resale services. It serves a similar enterprise and SMB customer base as GreenCitizen and competes on certified, domestic processing with chain-of-custody reporting.
• Sims Lifecycle Services: Sims Lifecycle Services (SLS) is a global ITAD and electronics reuse provider offering data destruction, asset recovery, and circular-economy services to enterprises. It directly competes with GreenCitizen's ITAD and data destruction offerings, with the key difference being Sims' national/multi-region footprint versus GreenCitizen's Bay Area concentration.
• All Green Electronics Recycling: All Green Electronics Recycling is a national e-waste and ITAD provider offering certified data destruction and asset recovery with a multi-state collection network. It is comparable to GreenCitizen in service offerings, with broader geographic reach.
• Dynamic Recycling: Dynamic Recycling is a Wisconsin-based ITAD and e-waste recycler with R2, RIOS, and e-Stewards certifications, serving enterprise and government clients. It directly competes with GreenCitizen on certified electronics recycling and secure data destruction.
• Clover ITAD (Clover Imaging Group): Clover ITAD offers IT asset disposition, data destruction, and remarketing services to enterprises, with a focus on printer and imaging equipment reuse. It overlaps with GreenCitizen's ITAD and printer recycling services (GreenCitizen's BPALAIAJ line) at greater scale.

Regional players

• 4th Bin: 4th Bin is a New York-based e-waste recycler and ITAD provider offering secure data destruction and responsible recycling services. It serves a similar product/service mix as GreenCitizen but is geographically concentrated in the Northeast U.S.

Broad incumbents

• Iron Mountain Asset Lifecycle Management: Iron Mountain's Asset Lifecycle Management (ALM) division offers ITAD, secure data destruction, and chain-of-custody services globally alongside its broader records and information management business. It competes with GreenCitizen for enterprise ITAD contracts but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@green_citizen/shorts
• Xx.com/greencitizenus
• Facebookfacebook.com/GreenCitizen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/greencitizen

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GreenCitizen