Woolworths, as part of its pledge to support Earth Hour, is asking customers to safely dispose of used energy saving light bulbs in the specially designed bins positioned in 46 of its national stores.
“Energy saving light bulbs need to be disposed of responsibly as the mercury can cause damage to the environment. The mercury content in one light bulb equals the size of a full stop at the end of a sentence, but the dangers of millions of bulbs in land fills throughout the country make it necessary to develop a safe method of disposal,” says Justin Smith, Manager for Woolworths Good business journey.
The collection bins in the 41 stores have been specially designed to ensure that there is no danger of CFL lamp breakage, therefore ensuring that there is no risk to the environment. The bins are cleared regularly and the contents are disposed of appropriately. In time the collection bins will be available in more stores around the country.”
Woolworths is also showing its support for Earth Hour by:
• asking employees to turn off the lights for Earth Hour and become more energy conscious at home.
• swapping employees incandescent light bulbs for energy efficient bulbs supplied by Woolworths and Eskom in the week of Earth Hour; and
• switching off the lights in head office.
“Earth Hour is an important global statement and Woolworths supports it wholeheartedly,” says Smith. “The light bulb disposal bins are important in our efforts to ensure we have a safe environment that is sustainable in the long-term.”
Earth Hour is from 8.30 to 9.30pm on Saturday 28 March 2009.
Woolworths stores with energy saving light bulb disposal bins:
Energy saving lightbulb bin stores
1 Stellenbosch Square
2 Sandton
3 Irene Mall
4 Vincent Park
5 Canal walk
6 Rosebank
7 George
8 Greenacres
9 The Glen
10 Garden Route Mall
11 Kloof street
12 Gardens
13 Fish hoek
14 Bryanston
15 Hyde Park
16 Blue Route
17 Kensington Drive
18 Centurion
19 Cresta
20 Cavendish square
21 Tygervalley
22 Durbanville
23 EastRand Mall
24 Hout bay
25 Farramere
26 La Lucia
27 N1 city
28 Northgate
29 Northcliff
30 Tableview
31 Constantia
32 Eastgate
33 Gateway
34 Morningside
35 Rivonia
36 Waterstone village
37 Somerset Mall
38 Willowbridge
39 Fourways
40 Cedar Square
41 Brooklyn
In addition to the stores above, there are also 2 disposal bins in head office for employees.
Woolworths and its commitment to reducing energy use:
Woolworths, as part of its Good business journey, has committed itself to reducing its energy usage by 30% by 2012. “Although our targets are big, we understood from the outset that Woolworths pledge to sustainability would be the sum total of a multitude of initiatives – some small, some very large. We want people to understand that small contributions can make a big difference – because they are generally easy to implement by millions of people,” says Smith.
