SonyStyle To Recycle Customers' TVs

By Colleen Bohen -- TWICE, 12/1/2008

SAN DIEGO — SonyStyle announced plans to launch its Green Glove Service, an in-home delivery service that customer can use when they purchase a new 32-inch or larger Sony Bravia LCD TV at a SonyStyle store or direct at SonyStyle.com. At the customer's request, the retailer will haul away the customer's old TV and recycle it responsibly when they deliver, unpack and set up the new TV.

The retailer is launching the initiative in time for America Recycles Day, which took place Nov. 15. The program is part of a larger Sony Take Back Recycling program that it had previously forged in partnership with Waste Management Recycle America.

In general, consumers who want to take advantage of the free Sony Take Back program have to drop off their electronics at a local Waste Management Recycle America drop-off location (www.sony.com/recycle has a list of locations). The Green Glove Service is being positioned by Sony as an effort to make it even more convenient for consumers to recycle.

"By giving consumers the opportunity to do the right thing, without even leaving their homes, we are able to make a lasting impact on the state of our environment by responsibly recycling these materials," said Mike Fasulo, Sony Electronics' chief marketing officer and head of the company's corporate social responsibility efforts.

According to a release, both Sony Electronics and Waste Management Recycle America are signatories to the Basel Action Network's Manufacturers' Commitment to Responsible E-Waste Recycling, which Sony said signified the companies' agreement to conduct their electronics recycling programs transparently and in accord with rigorous environmental and worker safety standards, and adhere to measures to prevent the export of hazardous e-waste to developing countries.

Sony said that it and Waste Management Recycle America have worked together to collect more than 11.9 million pounds of electronics waste since the affiliation began.