Panasonic launches personal care device recycling program

        Panasonic announced its Take Back for Tomorrow program at CES 2023 to promote recycling of electronic personal care devices such as shavers and trimmers.

        Today, more than 88 million U.S. consumers use an electric shaver or trimmer. Due to a lack of adequate recycling infrastructure, most of these devices are sent to landfills, wasting batteries, metals and other recyclable materials. Panasonic's program aims to begin diverting this e-waste into a more circular supply chain recycling stream and pay consumers for it.

        According to reports, users of electric shavers or trimmers participating in this program need to register on PanasonicMultiShape.com. Panasonic pays for the cost of shipping scrapped products together with its partner ERI by making a prepaid label for consumers to simply package and ship devices for recycling. The goal of Panasonic's program is to promote circularity in its US supply chain, starting with personal care devices, and its consumer electronics components are recycled by ERI. All lithium-ion batteries in these devices are sent to Redwood Materials, which collects, refurbishes and recycles lithium-ion batteries. The sustainable battery materials are refined and remanufactured to become materials for processing the anode and cathode components of Panasonic's electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

        Panasonic said ERI's nationwide footprint will help reduce shipping and make the program more carbon efficient. MRM will help manage the entire project, including recycling coordination and recycler audits to ensure it contributes to the company's shared sustainability goals. Individuals who participate in this recycling program will receive a 30% discount on the purchase of Panasonic MultiShape products.