Veolia Environmental Services Attains Approved Processor Status for Recycling Council of Ontario's Take Back the Light Program

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Veolia Environmental Services North America, is pleased to announce that its Port Washington, WI facility has achieved approved processor status for the Take Back the Light program. This approval allows Veolia's Wisconsin facility to recycle fluorescent and other mercury bearing lamps that are subject to the program's strict operational and environmental requirements.

Launched in June 2008 with the financial support of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Take Back the Light is Canada's first comprehensive fluorescent lamp recycling program. The program's goal is to responsibly recycle fluorescent lamps that would otherwise be landfilled and to track and verify these activities. It facilitates proper collection and management of lamps to recover potentially hazardous mercury and other lamp materials. While the recovery of mercury is the primary objective of the program, glass, metals, and phosphor are also reclaimed and recycled.

“Proper handling of fluorescent and other mercury-bearing lamps is extremely important to Veolia and our customers,” says John McShane, Electronics Recycling Division General Manager for Veolia ES Technical Solutions.“ Being an approved processor for Take Back the Light provides the public and our customers the assurance they need to know that their spent lamps will be handled properly.”

The context for mercury containing lamps is as follows:

• It is estimated that approximately 30 million fluorescent lamps are disposed of annually.
• In 2008, approximately 7% of fluorescent lamps were collected for recycling.
• This 7% figure represents approximately 312 kilograms of mercury.
• It also represents over 8 million kilograms of glass, 100,000 kilograms of metal, and 128,000 kilograms of phosphor.

(Source: Recycling Council of Ontario & Electro Fed)

“Take Back the Light empowers organizations to recycle their lamps by simplifying the process and using sheer bulk buying power to get the best possible price for lamp recycling,” says Jo‐Anne St. Godard, Executive Director of Recycling Council of Ontario. “We are pleased to welcome Veolia as a qualified recycling service provider, and look forward to working with them as our program continues to expand.”

About Recycling Council of Ontario

Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO) is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization committed to minimizing society's impact on the environment by eliminating waste. RCO's mission is to inform and educate all members of society about the avoidance of waste, efficient use of resources, and the benefits and/or consequences of these activities. Visit www.rco.on.ca.

About Veolia Environmental Services

Based in Chicago, Veolia Environmental Services North America Corp. (VESNA) is a trusted partner to industry, helping solve the unique challenges of safely managing waste and maintaining efficient operating processes. The company's service offering includes turn-key industrial cleaning and maintenance services, and the treatment, recycling and disposal of hazardous and regulated wastes in North America. VESNA has approximately 5,400 employees and reported revenues of $800 million in 2012.

Veolia Environmental Services is the global reference in waste, cleaning and resource management. Its parent company, Veolia Environnement VE (Paris Euronext: VIE), recorded annual revenues of over $38.8 billion in 2012. For more information, visit the company's website at www.VeoliaES.com.