South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. is accelerating its resource recycling activity by collecting and handling nearly 4 million tons of used home appliances as of last year.

According to LG Electronics on Sunday, the company collected and processed 472,876 tons of electronic waste products last year, the largest amount since it began collecting used home appliances in 2007.

By region, waste collected and processed in Asia increased by 31.4 percent and Latin America 22.8 percent last year from a year ago. In Africa, where LG Electronics began collecting waste electronics for the first time last year, the amount reached 1,542 tons.

LG Electronics’ used home appliance collection program is aimed at building a virtuous cycle to utilize discarded appliances as resources.

The program is part of the company’s environmental, social responsibility, and governance transparency (ESG) management, and its cumulative collection volume has reached 4 million tons by last year.

The program is said to be of particular interest to LG Electronics’ top management, including Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan.

Earlier this month, Cho visited the company’s electronics store Best Shop in Gangnam District in southern Seoul to participate in the collection of small and medium-sized waste appliances.

“From a resource circulation perspective, collecting waste appliances is the starting point for ESG activities,” Cho said at the event, while emphasizing the importance of reducing negative environmental impacts on the planet while expanding positive values through environmentally friendly products and services.

Since last year, LG Electronics has been collecting electronic products regardless of brand by installing dedicated collection boxes at LG Best Shop stores after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Environment Corp., E-Cycle Governance, and home appliance manufacturers and distributors to improve the collection system for small and medium-sized waste electricity and electronic products.

In May, the company held a joint campaign with the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute and the Korea Solidarity for Resource Circulation Society to collect and recycle waste batteries for vacuum cleaners.

By Choi Seung-jin and Yoon Yeon-hae

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