Argos corporate news
Waste Not Want Not
20 January 2006
Argos and local authorities launch major catalogue recycling campaign in North West
Local Authorities in the North West of England and leading multi-channel retailer Argos have joined together to promote a major recycling initiative to coincide with the launch of the new Argos Spring/Summer catalogue this weekend.
The pilot project, which runs for three weeks, will initially cover 20 Argos stores in the North West of England and aims to encourage the return of old or out of date Argos catalogues to its stores. If successful, the scheme will be implemented nationally to all 650 Argos stores. With as many as 3,000 customers per day visiting some stores the recycling potential is huge, especially at catalogue launch time.
In 2003 a schools survey funded by Argos parent company GUS, identified that about 30% of catalogues were currently being recycled. The aim of this new project is to get a much higher rate of return of old catalogues to reduce the volume of paper going to landfill. At any one time Argos estimates that tens of thousands of old or used catalogues exist in public circulation.
Catalogues can be deposited in the blue containers placed at each of the 20 participating stores and Argos will ensure this will enter the paper recycling stream and avoid it ending up in landfill sites. In addition, many local authorities now offer kerbside collections for catalogues.
Laurence Singer, Argos corporate responsibility manager said: “The launch of our new catalogue is an excellent time for customers to come to the store, pick up a new catalogue and dispose of their old one with the comfort that the old catalogue will be recycled.” Laurence added: “There will many customers who find local recycling points and kerbside collections equally convenient and we also encourage the use of these facilities to ensure catalogues do not end up in landfill.”
Argos Retail Group uses substantial volumes of paper in the production of catalogues and marketing materials. Last year Argos produced 35 million catalogues, using 68,000 tonnes of paper. In order to minimise the impact of this paper on the environment the company already use forecast models to try and reduce the number of unused catalogues at the end of each season. It also ensures that paper comes from well-managed forests.
