Appliance Recycling Centers of America to Provide Appliance Recycling Services for Puget Sound Energy Customers

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARCI) today announced that it has been awarded a two-year contract by Puget Sound Energy to recycle approximately 12,000 old refrigerators and freezers for PSE residential electric customers from Jan. 4, 2010 through Dec. 2011.

Through this program, PSE utility customers who turn in operating but energy inefficient secondary refrigerators and freezers are eligible for a $30 incentive for each qualifying appliance, with a maximum of two units per household. The PSE incentive is designed to offset the costs normally incurred when disposing of an old, secondary refrigerator or freezer.

Through the program, PSE and ARCA will continue to prevent more than 95 percent of the recyclable materials in old refrigerators and freezers from entering the waste stream. The PSE customer refrigerators will be recycled at the ARCA plant in Kent, Wash.

Edward R. (Jack) Cameron, ARCA's President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to provide environmentally sound, turnkey appliance recycling services for PSE's already successful Refrigerator and Freezer Recycling Program in Washington state. We are excited to support PSE's efforts to help customers continue to protect the environment and reduce their energy consumption while receiving a $30 incentive for each appliance recycled."

Since 2007, PSE has helped customers recycle more than 15,000 refrigeration appliances. With this new contract, ARCA plans to help PSE customers recycle 12,000 more refrigerators and freezers over the next two years.

"Recycling extra units makes sense for PSE customers. Old refrigerators and freezers use more energy than newer models, so they can add to utility bills. ARCA helps us keep this program available and cost-effective so our customers can dispose of these extra units in an environmentally-responsible way," said Cal Shirley, PSE's vice president of Energy Efficiency Services.

For further program information, please visit ARCAIncUtility.com or call 866.551.9755.

About ARCA

ARCA (www.ARCAInc.com), one of the nation's largest recyclers of major household appliances for the energy conservation programs of electric utilities, currently provides services for 150 utility programs in the U.S. and Canada. Toxic chemicals and environmentally harmful materials such as ozone-depleting refrigerants, PCBs, mercury and oil are carefully recovered in the decommissioning process for destruction or disposal, preventing them from contaminating soil, air and water resources. The company is also the exclusive North American distributor for UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT), a materials recovery system for household refrigeration appliances.

About Puget Sound Energy

Washington state's oldest local energy utility, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers in 11 counties.  A subsidiary of Puget Energy, PSE meets the energy needs of its growing customer base through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service and delivering energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible. For more information, visit www.PSE.com.  

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including the risks associated with general economic conditions, competition in the retail and recycling industries and regulatory risks. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in ARCA's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other risks may be detailed from time to time in reports to be filed with the SEC.

SOURCE Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc.