Nov 10 2009
Waste Management and LG Provide Hotel Operators New Sustainability Option, Convenient Disposal of Outdated Equipment
The leading provider of flat-panel HDTVs to the lodging industry, LG Electronics USA, Inc., and the nation's leading recycler, Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM), today announced the first recycling program for hotel operators to responsibly dispose of outdated television sets and computer monitors.
In 2010 alone, hundreds of hotels are expected to upgrade thousands of rooms with energy-efficient LG flat-panel digital TVs, which will displace older analog picture tube TVs. To support this growing trend, LG Electronics will now offer environmentally conscious hotel, motel and resort operators a convenient, cost-effective opportunity for recycling the obsolete hotel TVs.
Under this new program planned for launch in 2010, LG Electronics would facilitate the recycling process through Waste Management's subsidiary WM Recycle America LLC. In addition to offering the TV and monitor-recycling program, LG would assist hoteliers in working with WM to recycle the packaging from the new LG flat-panel HDTVs and computer monitors being installed in their properties.
"This program will encourage hotel operators to dispose of outdated electronics in an environmentally responsible manner," said Teddy Hwang, president, LG Electronics USA, which established its successful nationwide electronics-recycling program for consumers with Waste Management over a year ago. This initiative "further supports LG's global sustainability initiative that also encompasses energy conservation, reduction of hazardous substances and responsible product designs," he noted.
The Executive Director of the National Center for Electronics Recycling, Jason Linnell, called the LG hotel TV recycling concept "a significant new development" in the E-Waste arena. "Most voluntary and state-mandated efforts across the country have been focused on consumer recycling efforts. So, when you think of the millions of analog TVs being replaced in hotels across the country, this approach is particularly noteworthy. We urge hotel operators to take advantage of these kinds of opportunities."
The program will leverage Waste Management's national network of over 200 recycling centers throughout the United States. The hotel TVs and computer monitors collected under this program will be processed in an environmentally responsible manner at one of four regionally designated Waste Management recycling facilities that are ISO 14001 and 9001 certified to protect the local environment in those communities along with the people handling this waste. Waste Management is also committed to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's R2 Standards for the management of electronic waste.
"As the lodging industry seeks to increase its environmentally conscious initiatives, the LG program gives hotel operators the opportunity to conveniently recycle electronic waste responsibly and economically," said Patrick DeRueda, president of WM Recycle America. "This program also demonstrates our shared commitment to providing outstanding customer service and leadership in environmental stewardship as well as helping us towards one of our sustainability goals of nearly tripling the amount of recyclables we process by 2020."
DeRueda said LG's hotel TV recycling solution, the latest in a series of manufacturer and retailer agreements with WM Recycle America, could have sweeping benefits. "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," he said. "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. Additionally, material reuse reduces the production of greenhouse gases."
"This means hotel operators, together with LG and Waste Management, can do their part to improve recycling and reduce the environmental impact of waste products," added LG's Hwang. "The explosive growth of electronics products over the years, coupled with the rapid replacement of millions of analog TVs as consumers and hotels upgrade to flat-panel HDTVs underscores the need for companies like LG to help provide responsible end-of-life solutions."