Dive Brief:
- Morristown, NJ-based Covanta and Chicago-based Veolia have partnered to make Veolia's RecyclePak program available to businesses, consumers, and cities to recycle universal waste — material designated as hazardous but containing common materials — such as lamps, ballasts and batteries.
- Customers can buy a container from the company website, put the universal waste into it and ship it to one of Veolia's recycling centers using a prepaid shipping label.
- Covanta, a waste and energy solutions company, and Veolia, a resource management solutions provider, say the program is convenient and environmentally responsible.
Dive Insight:
Recycling can be confusing for consumers, especially if the items are unusual. The Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers reports that only 24% of the 600 million mercury-containing lamps that are discarded each year are properly recycled.
Recycling Today notes that by separating products into their components and reusing them, waste can be reduced and diverted from landfills, energy is saved, and resources are conserved.
Construction and electronics waste are increasing, along with the markets to recycle them. Solutions like RecyclePak can help ensure more of that waste is treated responsibly.