Lexmark Plugs In To EPA Program

The program is a partnership between the EPA and businesses that takes steps toward collecting used electrical and electronic equipment. The primary goals of the program are to:

• Reduce the amount of used televisions, cell phones, computers and printers that end up in landfills
• Safely manage some of the potentially hazardous materials that make up these components
• Recover and reuse valuable materials
• Reduce the pollution and energy tied to the production of new electronics

"Lexmark takes its role as a good environmental steward very seriously," Paul Curlander, Lexmark's chairman and chief executive officer, says. "We're proud to be a partner in the EPA's Plug-In To eCycling program. It is just one of several efforts we have under way that gives consumers a clean, safe, environmentally sound way to dispose of their used Lexmark products."

As a Plug-In To eCycling partner, Lexmark will help the EPA in its initiative to educate consumers about the recycling of end-of-life electronic products. Programs like the EPA's Plug-In To eCycling are increasingly important as electrical and electronic components become more a part of daily living.

"Every year, more and more end-of-life electronic products are discarded," Curlander says. "Yet only a small percentage in the U.S. are recycled.

"Lexmark is focused on offering our customers a solution for their end-of- life Lexmark products." Curlander says. "Programs like Plug-In To eCycling are a way that Lexmark and other companies can help get the message about the importance of electronic product recycling to our customers."

Lexmark also has announced that it has entered into agreements with two electronic product recyclers in the United States: Envirocycle and Nxtcycle.

Under the agreements, Lexmark will participate in local and regional hardware collection and recycling events. The agreements are part of Lexmark's ongoing efforts—both privately and as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Plug-In To eCycling initiative—to educate consumers and collect end-of-life electronic products for recycling.

"We're very pleased to be working with Envirocycle and Nxtcycle," Curlander says. "Teaming with two of the leading electronic product recyclers in the U.S. demonstrates Lexmark's continued commitment to environmental leadership and providing customers with choices."

Envirocycle, based in Hallstead, Pa., receives and recycles used equipment from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, corporations, consumers and public collections across the United States. Nxtcycle, based in Mesa, Ariz., offers an integrated recycling approach that includes reuse, component recycling and commodity recovery of electronic waste streams. It operates six warehousing and processing locations across North America.