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Management of Take-back & Recycling

Take-Back & Recycling Amounts

LG Electronics has published take-back & recycling amounts from specific regions. From July 2007, the company has also been developing indices to offer important information to customers and investors as well as to enhance internal management efficiency for take-back & recycling amounts. You can find our recycling status from a global perspective and also by region.
Annual Take-Back & Recycling Amounts

Below are the recycling rates in 2008 for TVs, PCs, and mobile phone based on the average life-span of the product - e.g. taking the average life-span of a TV as 10 years, the recycling rate for 2008 is the weight of TVs recycled in 2008 as a percentage of the weight of TVs sold in 1998.

Recycling rates for 2008:
TVs - 159 % (based on an average life-span of 10 years)
Computers - 59 % (based on an average life-span of 7 years, but with sales by the LG brand from '05)
Mobile phones - 7.1% (based on an average life-span of 2 years)

These figures are derived from the sales and recycled amounts from Korea & Japan, Europe and North America. Further details of the amounts recycled in each region are set out below.
Global Take-back & Recycling Amounts in 2008
  Take-back (ton)
'07 '08
Household appliances 1)
53,749
58,406
IT and telecom. equipment 2)
3,432
15,374
Consumer equipment 3)
20,502
34,354
Total
77,684
108,135
Note
1) Cooling appliances, refrigerators, washing machines/dryers, dishwashers,     microwaves, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners etc
2) Personal/laptops/Notebook computers & monitors, mobile phones, USB, ODD etc
3) Television sets, video recorders, hi-fis, audio amplifiers, musical instruments
4) Take-back & recycling amounts are being calculated based on the total weight of     the products.
5) Only product categories estimated each region are concerned and analyzed.
6) Take-back and recycling amounts in Asia are the sum of the data received from     Korea and Japan.
Take-back & Recycling Amounts in Europe in 2008
  Take-back (ton)
'07 '08
Household appliances 1)
21,818
30,697
IT and telecom. equipment 2)
2,554
14,017
Consumer equipment 3)
13,769
26,375
Total
38,141
71,090
Take-back & Recycling Amounts in Asia in 2008
  Take-back (ton)
'07 '08
Household appliances 1)
31,931
27,709
IT and telecom. equipment 2)
812
1,188
Consumer equipment 3)
6,522
7,213
Total
39,266
36,110
Take-back & Recycling Amounts in North America in 2008
  Take-back (ton)
'07 '08
IT and telecom. equipment 2)
66
169
Consumer equipment 3)
211
766
Total
277
935
Voluntary Take-back & Recycling for Mobile Phones in the U.S.
Product Take-back (ton)
'07 '08
Handsets
0.03
12.46
Note
1) The voluntary take-back amount is the total of free-mailed amount added to the     take-back amount from the US event associated with the EPA eCycling Program.
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