Best Buy Joins EPA Appliance Disposal Program

Best Buy has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program to help drive the responsible disposal and recycling of household appliances. The retailer says its voluntary participation in the RAD Program underscores the company’s commitment to help consumers save energy, reduce waste and protect the environment.

Under the program, Best Buy will recover and dispose or recycle refrigerants and appliance insulating foam that contain CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs. The retailer also will continue to help recover and properly dispose of appliance waste streams such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury switches, and used oil.

Best Buy offers a wide selection of Energy Star qualified appliances at its retail stores and hauls away old appliances for free with every replacement purchased.

The retailer recently set a goal to collect 1 billion pounds of old or obsolete electronics and appliances for recycling. In 2009, Best Buy recycling programs collected 120 million pounds of electronic goods from U.S. consumers, including 60 million pounds of electronics and 60 million pounds of appliances.

Best Buy has offered electronics recycling at all of its U.S. locations since February 2009.

Here’s a recent video interview with Best Buy’s corporate responsibility team.