Tis the Season to Recycle

By Stuart Reed

As the nation’s largest seller of appliances, Sears Holdings Corp. has long championed initiatives and programs that save energy, and respect and protect the environment. That’s why, as the first and largest retail partner to join EPA’s Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) program back in 2007, today we’re proud to commemorate RAD’s sixth anniversary, and celebrate RAD’s accomplishments in protecting the climate and ozone layer.

As a RAD partner, Sears is committed to providing our customers an environmentally friendly appliance disposal service, where we recycle your discarded refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner, or dehumidifier when you purchase a new one – in California, we’ll pick up your old appliances for recycling even if you don’t buy a new one. We recover the refrigerants from these old appliances and make sure they aren’t released to the atmosphere, where they could harm the ozone layer and climate system. Did you know that Americans dispose of more than 9 million fridges and freezers every year? In 2011 alone, Sears’ recycling of refrigerant, insulating foam, metals, plastic and glass helped prevent the equivalent of the greenhouse gas emissions from more than 200,000 cars for one year.
We are also proud to be an Energy Star Partner of the Year Award recipient. By buying ENERGY STAR®-qualified appliances, customers can save money on their utility bills, and become more energy efficient.

In 2010 Sears began The Big Switch, a program aimed at helping families remove and recycle 5 million older, less efficient appliances from the energy grid, with the benefits of saving energy, responsibly disposing of material and keeping it out of landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately saving families money on their utility bills.

Protecting the environment and inspiring others to do the same is a high priority for Sears. You can learn more here about how you can do your part to become more energy efficient. Changes come in all sizes, not just appliance-sized ones – if every American home replaced just one light bulb with one that has earned the ENERGY STAR, we would save about $680 million in annual energy costs and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of emissions from 800,000 cars for one year. So this holiday season, whether you’re buying new appliances or just decorating your home, remember that everyone can play a role in protecting our environment.

About the author: Stuart Reed is the Senior Vice President and President – Home Services, Sears Holdings Corp.