Lowe’s Installs Collection Centers at Stores

Lowe's has announced that it has installed recyclables collection centers at close to 1,700 of its stores in the continental United States. Lowe’s says that the recycling centers will offer a convenient and free way for customers to recycle rechargeable batteries, cell phones, compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and plastic shopping bags.

At participating Lowe's store, customers can drop off expired, unbroken CFLs, any rechargeable battery up to 11 pounds and all used cell phones and plastic shopping bags. The products are shipped to recycling facilities for processing.

In announcing the new project, Lowe’s notes that since joining the Call2Recycle program, the company has increased the volume of rechargeable batteries it recovers from consumers, with more than 334,000 pounds recycled last year.

In addition to the recycling center, other sustainability efforts that Lowe's has taken include a pallet recycling program, now in its fifth year. The company says that it recycled more than 166,000 tons of wood pallets last year, as well as 147,000 tons of cardboard and nearly 400 tons of shrink wrap.

The company also expanded its appliance recycling program to all stores this spring. With the purchase of a new appliance, Lowe's hauls away customers' old appliances at no charge. In recognizing Lowe’s efforts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named Lowe's the first winner of the Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award in Retail.