Jason Li, CEO of iReTron, is trying to save the planet, one electronic device at a time. That is, when he is not juggling the rigors of his sophomore year honors courses at Saratoga High School and extra-curricular activities like wrestling, piano, judo, speech and debate club. Li is 15-years-old, and once we got over feeling depressed at how much we didn't accomplish in high school, we reached out to him for his story.

"I created iReTron in hopes of giving everyone a way to contribute to the well being of our planet while earning money for themselves. I was always interested in business and benefiting the environment," said Li. He explained how after studying the dangers of electronic waste in his freshman world geography class, "the two came together for me, and iReTron was born."

So last July, backed by a small business loan from his parents, Li launched iReTron as a company designed to combat electronic waste by buying old electronics, refurbishing them, and either re-selling or donating them. Li will also take your obsolete and worthless devices and make sure they end up at a certified recycling center, covering your shipping and handling, regardless of the value of your device. The goal is to keep electronic devices from becoming electronic waste at landfills, and even prevent them from going overseas to refurbishing centers that operate under lax environmental regulations. Although iReTron is not the first company to develop this business model, Li is carving a niche by simply offering more money than the other guys. 

"If you can find a company like ours who will offer more, we will match their price along with 5 dollars more than their offer," Li explained. "While other companies focus on earning money, iReTron is truly here to save our planet."

iReTron has not financially broken even yet, but Li states he has made a profit on each of his almost 700 transactions. "Not only do we offer high prices for sellers and low prices for buyer, but we are solving the electronic waste crisis one gadget at a time," states Li.

Li talked about struggling initially, especially with all the other demands on his life as well as the fact that, you know, he was only fifteen. Now that iReTron is starting to get some traction -- this past March Li won the "Next Teen Tycoon" video contest, including $4,000 and a trip to the 2012 TEDxTeen conference in New York -- he is beginning to realize some benefits, too.

"The whole process has taught me so much not only with marketing and business, but it has also built my personal confidence in everything else that I do," Li explained. "There is truly nothing more gratifying than finishing a transaction and realizing that you have just made a difference in the world."

iReTron is incorporated, and completely student run. Li is the only employee, for now, but his friends volunteer to help him promote the website at fairs and events and online. However, Li has plans to grow iReTron "into a multimillion-dollar company."

All of which sounds fairly amazing to us, and left us wondering just how in the world Li found the time to launch such an ambitious project.

"I don't play video games," he stated.

Well, yeah, there is that.

Adrian writes the weekly Law & Apple column for MacLife.com. Follow him on Twitter, or subscribe to him on Facebook.