Sony Launches Recycling Plan for Old TVs

Consumer-electronics giant Sony is launching a nationwide recycling program in which it will recycle free-of-charge all old Sony TVs and all Sony-branded products in partnership with Waste Management.

The program, announced Thursday at the Sony Store in Manhattan, is set to begin Sept. 15, with some 75 Waste Management dropoff centers throughout the United States. Sony's goal is to have 175 centers operating one year from now.

The company will also recycle other manufacturers' consumer-electronics products for a small fee.

According to Sony vice president Mark Small, the only parts of an old TV set that can't be reused are the wooden cabinets; every other part can be recycled. Small said Sony's goal is “for every pound of new product we put into the market, we want to take a pound back [to recycle].”

Sony is also launching an HD marketing campaign called “HDNA” that will feature National Football League star Peyton Manning and National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing star Dale Earnhardt Jr. The campaign will emphasize Sony's HD experience in both the professional and consumer sides of TV technology and will use the tagline: “High Definition: It's in Our DNA”.

Spots showed Manning sitting in the control room of an high-definition production truck and running camera cable from an NFL stadium to a nearby retail store.

The script for the Manning spot is, “Watch Peyton Manning the same way a network cameraman does, on a Sony.” The ads launched late last week.