Honoring Best Buy's E-Recycling Initiative

Floor Speech

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Best Buy's extraordinary commitment to electronics recycling, and their leadership in zero-waste initiatives in the retail industry.

Starting with a goal of recycling one billion pounds of electronics by the end of 2014, Best Buy opened collection points for e-waste at all of its 1,300 retail locations through the United States. Through aggressive awareness and marketing campaigns, they increased collections by 20 percent to nearly 100 million pounds in 2012. Every minute they are open, the company collects more than 400 pounds of electronics waste, without regard to the product's initial retailer. As of September 12, 2014 Best Buy has recycled over 966 million pounds of electronics.

I applaud Best Buy's dedication to electronics recycling. Their recycling strategies should serve as a model to other major retailers. On behalf of the residents of the Fifth Congressional District, I commend Best Buy for their commitment to our environment; their e-waste collection sets the bar for other companies and goes beyond any level mandated by government.

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