(This page was originally published on 02 September 2015)

Launching Baidu Recycle 2.0, a UNDP-Baidu Connect lite app for a greener and cleaner China

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, today attended the launch of a ground-breaking solution for e-waste disposal and recycling called Baidu Recycle 2.0. A joint effort between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Baidu, the innovative app, a product of Baidu Connect lite, links individuals disposing of electronic waste with dismantling and recycling companies, working towards a greener and more sustainable future across China.

The UN Secretary-General commended the UNDP-Baidu partnership on big data technology for e-waste management, saying that “data revolution is giving the world powerful tools that can help usher in a more sustainable future”.

During the launch event, the UN Secretary General, alongside Mr. Robin Li, CEO and Chairman of Baidu, jointly signed a laptop, the first e-waste product recycled by the Baidu Connect lite app, which will later be used in an e-waste sculpture as an attempt to raise public awareness of e-waste recycling in China.

“The launch of Baidu Recycle 2.0 is a great beginning. We want to leverage our technology and our position as a major Internet platform to contribute to clean, sustainable development,” said Robin Li.

Last year, UNDP and Baidu jointly set up a big data lab, designed as an open platform that brings together big data and development experts to identify valuable data, in turn contributing to formulating and implementing sound development strategies. As the inaugural product of the joint lab, Baidu Recycle 1.0 was launched in August last year, and since then has recycled more than 4,000 items.

This year, leveraging the success of Baidu Recycle 1.0, Baidu Recycle 2.0 aims to make recycling easier and more efficient for customers as well as companies. The web-based app has widened its product coverage to include small-sized items such as cell phones and laptops, scaled up beyond original pilot cities of Beijing and Tianjin to nationwide coverage, and installed user-friendly interfaces for individuals and recycling companies. The new Baidu Connect lite app will help streamline the recycling process and cut down ‘informal recycling stations’. These stations are usually unaccredited entities that reclaim precious metals from within electronic equipment but then dispose of the toxic materials incorrectly, causing severe ground and water pollution.

Baidu Recycle 2.0 exemplifies the importance of different stakeholders working together for the people, planet and global prosperity. This is an ambitious vision that is also shared by the UN as it hopes to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, soon to be adopted by Heads of State at the UN General Assembly later this month. To this end, while addressing the Secretary-General, Robin Li also expressed Baidu’s support towards promoting the transformational post-2015 agenda, calling it “a historic pledge to combat poverty, inequality, and climate change—everywhere, in all countries, and for all people.”

To access the web-based app, search for “@百度回收站” in your mobile Baidu search app. A smartphone app version will also be available for download on iOS and Android later this year. 

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is on an official visit to China from September 2nd to 6th.

Contact information

Ms. Zhang Wei, Chief Communications Officer, UNDP China, at wei.zhang@undp.org; or +8610 85320715