MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARCI) and the Ameren Illinois Utilities (AmerenCIPS, AmerenCILCO, AmerenIP) Act On Energy® Recycling Program announced that it has reached a milestone, successfully recycling 10,000 refrigerators and freezers.

The Ameren Illinois Utilities Act On Energy® Recycling Program aims to improve energy efficiency in its service territory by encouraging customers to remove pre-1993 refrigerators and freezers and offering a $35 incentive. As a courtesy to customers, room air conditioners are also picked up and recycled along with a qualifying refrigerator or freezer. However, the $35 incentive does not apply to room air conditioners. Units manufactured before 1993 typically use two to four times more electricity than newer ENERGY STAR® models and cost their owners $150 to $225 per unit annually in excess energy costs.

"The retirement of 10,000 old refrigerators and freezers represents annual energy savings of at least $1 million," said Karen Warnke, Ameren Illinois Utilities Customer Service energy efficiency advisor. "What's more, we have paid customers a total of $350,000 for those 10,000 units."

"ARCA is proud to work with utilities such as Ameren Illinois Utilities, where together we are able to prevent more than 95% of the recyclable materials in old refrigerators and freezers from entering the waste stream," said Edward R. (Jack) Cameron, President and Chief Executive Officer of ARCA. "The energy saved with this program is equivalent to CO(2) emissions from approximately 1,047,492 gallons of gasoline."

The Ameren Illinois Utilities have been providing safe, reliable energy delivery for more than a century. The Ameren Illinois Utilities deliver energy to 1.2 million electric and 840,000 natural gas customers in more than 1,200 communities within a 43,700-square-mile service territory.

For more information on the Ameren Illinois Utilities Act On Energy® Recycling Program, please visit ActOnEnergy.com or call 866.899.9088.

About ARCA

ARCA (www.arcainc.com) is one of the nation's largest recyclers of major household appliances for the energy conservation programs of electric utilities. The company is also the exclusive North American distributor for UNTHA Recycling Technology (URT), a materials recovery system for household refrigeration appliances.

SOURCE Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc.