NEW YORK, N.Y. —
LG Electronics and
Waste Management will partner to open more than 160 recycling centers across the country to handle masses of unwanted electronics.
Beginning next month, the companies will launch e-waste recycling centers in all 50 states with the goal of locating a center within 20 miles of 95 percent of the population. Users can drop off LG, Zenith and Goldstar brands for free, and pay a fee for other brands.
"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," Patrick DeRueda, president of WM Recycle America, said in a statement. "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."
Manufacturer-led recycling efforts have become more prevalent during the last few years at a time of growing e-waste awareness. Waste Management joined Sony in an
e-waste effort last year that allowed consumers to drop off Sony products at its e-Cycling centers.
Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba created an e-waste
recycling company in January for the Minnesota market, with plans of eventually going national.
Retailers, too, have gotten into the act. In June, for example, Best Buy Co. rolled out a free
pilot program across 117 stores in the Baltimore, San Francisco and Minnesota markets. A national program could follow.
In 2006, 2.9 million tons of electronics entered the U.S. waste management stream, of which only 11.4 percent was recycled, according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.
