LG, Waste Management Launch Electronics Recycling Program

LG Electronics (News - Alert), USA, Inc. and Waste Management Inc. today announced the launch of a nationwide LG Electronics Recycling Program. The program has been developed with WM Recycle America LLC, a subsidiary of Waste Management.

 

The program has been designed to offer consumers a “convenient, responsible” way to recycle tens of millions of unwanted television sets, computer monitors and other consumer electronics products, according to the companies.

 

“Our program encourages consumers to dispose of unwanted electronics in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Teddy Hwang, president at LG Electronics USA.

 

The LG Electronics Recycling Program enables consumers to recycle their used, unwanted, or damaged consumer electronic products by giving it away at a designated Waste Management eCycling Center.

 

Currently, Waste Management already has a number of designated “drop-off sites” across the United States. Waste Management officials said that their firm plans to have at least one drop-off site in each state over the next six weeks.

 

“A key goal of the LG-WM Recycle America program is to have a recycling center within 20 miles of 95 percent of the U.S. population,” officials said.

 

Patrick DeRueda, president at WM Recycle America, said this program, the latest in a series of manufacturer and retailer agreements with WM Recycle America, has “sweeping” benefits.

 

He said that by recycling used, unwanted, obsolete or damaged electronic equipment, useful materials such as glass, metals and plastics may be recovered for reuse in other products.

 

“Reuse minimizes the amount of waste disposed, while also reducing the amount of raw materials extracted as well as energy required to make new materials,” said DeRueda, adding that material reuse reduces the production of greenhouse gases.

 

For free, consumers can recycle products such as LG, Zenith and Goldstar brands of televisions, monitors, audio equipment, video cassette players and recorders, DVD players and recorders, combination TV/VCR and TV/DVD units, set-top boxes and accessories associated with those products.

 

Additionally, for a minimal fee, officials said that the LG-WM Recycle America program allows consumers to recycle other manufacturers’ consumer electronics products.

The electronic materials collected for LG will be processed in an “environmentally responsible manner” at Waste Management facilities that are ISO 14001 and 9001 certified, according to LG Electronics.

 

This month, the LG Electronics recycling program is being launched in 160 locations across the country, and is expected to include recycling sites in all 50 states by September.