RBRC Announces Increase in Battery Collection Levels

The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. announced its collection data for 2004, reporting more than 4.4 million pounds of rechargeable batteries in the United States and Canada, an increase of 7.7 percent from 2003. In addition, RBRC's Call2Recycle cell phone and rechargeable battery collection program has collected more than 48,000 cell phones since its launch this past April.

Last year, community participation increased 19 percent while public agency participation increased 39 percent.

"We are pleased to see that not only our partners' interest, but also the interest of consumers in general continues to grow in response to an unplugged lifestyle," said Ralph Millard, RBRC executive vice president. "The numbers show that everyone is thinking "greener" than ever."

Highlights from 2004 include:

* Launch of Call2Recycle cell phone recycling program. Call2Recycle all-in-one cell phone and battery collection boxes were shipped to 30,000 participating retailers. Through Call2Recycle, portions of the proceeds from refurbished phones benefit national charities such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

* Launch of RBRC's Call2Recycle Web site, which provides a comprehensive database for consumers can use to find the nearest location to recycle their rechargeable batteries.

* Cell phone recycling fees waived for Public Agency program. Hospital, police and fire departments no longer pay for the shipping of rechargeable batteries collected from mission critical equipment.

* Launched National Cell Phone Recycling Week. Celebrated partnership between RBRC and RadioShack to encourage consumers to recycle their old cell phones at RadioShack locations to benefit the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)

* Recipient of 2004 Silver Inkwell Award. Presented by the Washington D.C. chapter of International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) for "Freedom" and "Cordless Cool" Public Service Announcements in recognition of high quality work in the field of business communication.