Allan Gerlat, News Editor

September 23, 2014

1 Min Read
Best Buy Recycles 1 Billion Pounds of E-Waste; Sets Goal of 2 Billion

Best Buy Co. Inc. said it has recycled 1 billion pounds of electronic waste in six years from customers at its retail stores, and it set a new goal of an additional 2 billion pounds of electronics and large appliances by 2020.

The Minneapolis-based electronics retailer said in a news release that it now is aiming to help consumers recycle large and cumbersome products that are difficult to dispose of, such as large TVs and appliances. Best Buy will continue to recycle most consumer electronics at all its large format and specialty stores for free.

Since 2009 Best Buy has collected an average of more than 20 million products a year.

Its new e-waste recycling goal of 2 billion pounds is equivalent to a freight train with more than 3,500 cars.

Best Buy commissioned a survey by Millward Brown determining that 61 percent of people don’t recycle their electronics because they don’t know where to take them, it’s a hassle or it costs money. The highest recycling need today is for used analog or cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs, whereas the needs of the future will be mobile phones and TVs.

About the Author(s)

Allan Gerlat

News Editor, Waste360

Allan Gerlat joined the Waste360 staff in September 2011 as news editor. He was the editor of Waste & Recycling News for the first 16 years of its history, and under his guidance the publication won 27 national and regional awards.

Before Waste & Recycling News, Allan worked at another Crain Communications publication, Rubber & Plastics News, which covers rubber product manufacturing. He began with the publication as associate editor and eventually became managing editor, a position he held for nine years.

Allan is a graduate of Ohio University, where he earned a BS in journalism. He is based in Sagamore Hills, in northeast Ohio.

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