’85 Chicago Bears Help ComEd Tackle Refrigerator Recycling


One lucky ComEd customer received a gift fit for a champion this holiday season. ComEd teamed up with WBBM radio to host the “Retire Your Old Fridge” contest, which awarded a ComEd customer for participating in its Smart Ideas® Fridge and Freezer Recycling program. Winner Katie Straka of Palatine received a personal visit from former Bears champions Otis Wilson and Richard Dent, who presented her with tickets to a Bears game.

Old refrigerators and freezers can consume as much as three times more energy than newer models and could cost customers up to $150 a year in electricity. Through ComEd’s Fridge and Freezer Recycling program, customers can receive free pick up of their old, working refrigerator or freezer.

In addition, through a partnership with JACO Environmental, which operates a local recycling facility in Addison, Ill., ComEd will recycle the unit in an environmentally responsible way and send customers $35 for participating in the program. Customers also can receive $10 for a working room air conditioner when it’s picked up at the same time as a fridge or freezer.

“We congratulate Katie on winning and taking steps to save energy and help the environment,” said Val Jensen, senior vice president of Customer Operations at ComEd. “We understand the extremely important role we play in helping our customers save energy and also preserving the environment in the communities we serve. This is why we’ve created programs like the Fridge and Freezer Recycling as part of our Smart Ideas Energy Efficiency Program to provide our customers with the right tools and knowledge to help them make smarter energy decisions.”

Recycling these appliances helps prevent oils and refrigerants from escaping into the environment. Recycling them also reduces the amount of glass, metal and plastics that could end up in landfills. Since 2008, ComEd has recycled more than 200,000 units, keeping more than 13,000 tons of metal, 2,500 tons of plastic, and 500 tons of glass out of local landfills and using them in the production of products such as laptop cases and building supplies.

The Fridge & Freezer Recycling program is among a wide variety of programs, tools and resources ComEd offers through its Smart Ideas Energy Efficiency Program. Now in its seventh program year, ComEd’s award- winning Smart Ideas program has helped customers save nearly one billion dollars on their electric bills and reduce electricity usage by more than 9.8 million megawatt-hours, enough to power one million homes for a year.

The “Retire Your Old Fridge” contest was launched in Nov. Customers who scheduled a refrigerator pick up from Nov. 10 to Dec. 7 were entered into the contest where the winner was selected at random by CBS local affiliate WBBM.

To schedule a free pickup and to learn more about ComEd’s Fridge and Freezer Recycling program, customers can call 855-433-2700 or visit ComEd.com/FridgeRecycling. For additional Smart Ideas rebates and tips on how to save energy and money, visit ComEd.com/HomeSavings for residential customers and ComEd.com/BizIncentives for business customers. Customers can also follow ComEd on Facebook and Twitter for additional updates and ways to save.

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