Product Recycling
Recycling end-of-life products is vital if we are to save resources and minimize waste.
Global Take-Back Policy
The enforcement of the European Union's WEEE Directive has accelerated the expansion of end-of-life product take-back regulations throughout the world. At present, many governments are simply trying to finalize their own take-back legislation. LG Electronics has been involved in the process of establishing such legislation and has supported the introduction of take-back systems that are economically viable.
However, LG Electronics believes that simply complying with limited, existing take-back regulations is not enough.
Though a number of the recycling schemes developed to comply with the take-back regulations have achieved considerable environmental benefits at a reasonable cost, they do not provide direct eco-design incentives for individual manufacturers.
We believe take-back systems based on the responsibility of individual producers' may provide such incentives. We also believe that a technically and economically feasible identification solution will be available in the near future.
In line with our own global take-back policy LGE terminated its membership with Electronics Manufacturer Coalition for Responsible Recycling (EMCRR), in September 2007. Nonetheless, LGE will keep investigating ways to incorporate eco-design incentives into global take-back systems-and keep its sights high.
Guidance on the Disposal of End-of-Life Products
Consumers can contribute to resource conservation and the prevention of potential environmental problems by a simple action-the proper disposal of old electrical appliances. But electronic waste must be collected separately from the general waste stream via designated collection facilities appointed by governments or local authorities. And, since the manner in which separate collection is arranged may differ according to the municipality, information for users (such as the address, phone number, opening hours of the collection point, and so on) can be hard to come by. Usually, this information can be found in your town's guide or on its Web site, via a waste disposal service company, or may be posted in local stores. To do its part, LG Electronics has organized a list of Web links connecting users sources of take-back information in various countries and regions.
Recycled Plastic Applications
LG Electronics encourages the use of recycled plastics as a means for reducing the amount of waste generated-both during product development and manufacturing, and to generally minimize the waste of resources. We are attempting to increase the use of recycled plastic throughout the corporation, and strive to use recycled plastic across all products. As a result, the use of recycled plastics (post-industrial plastic) across all LGE products is now approximately 11 percent.
We fully support the future use of post-consumer recycled plastics in manufacturing products. This will reduce the amount of final waste and increase efficient resource use. We're also turning to R&D for solutions-aiming to increase quality, remove hazardous substances, and increase product reliability through a variety of means. We hope to increase our usage of recycled plastics to 25% of our entire plastic use, and will continue to pursue this goal through a series of activities and efforts.
Recycling Information for UK Recycling Firms
Based on "EICTA, CECED, and EERA Joint Position Guidance on implementing article 11 of Directive 2002/96/EC concerning information for Treatment facilities," LG Electronics provides recycling information for products sold after August 13, 2005, should this be requested by a local recycling firm in an EU country.
For more information, consult the REPIC Limited web site, or call REPIC at 0845 660 7929.
