Best Buy reminds customers to recycle online shipping boxes

That box used to ship your holiday gift could have a second — or third, or fourth — life. But only if you recycle it.

That's the message behind a nationwide campaign that Richfield-based Best Buy is joining to remind consumers to recycle those boxes and other packaging used to ship online orders.

Starting in November, when its online shipping orders surge amid the hustle of holiday shopping, Best Buy's shipping packages will come emblazoned with the slogan: "I want to be a pizza box. Recycle me."

The initiative is part of the "I want to be recycled" campaign, an effort launched in 2013 by the nonprofits Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council.

The campaign also recently partnered with Unilever, the maker of many personal care items such as Dove and Degree, to be a partner and help spread the word.

A Best Buy spokeswoman declined to disclose how much the retailer is investing in the effort, which will also include a social media element.

"We share a common objective to improve recycling and reduce our carbon footprint in the United States," Greg Revelle, Best Buy's chief marketing officer, said in a statement.

Best Buy has often been recognized for its in-store recycling programs of various electronics and other sustainability efforts.

Earlier this year, it began charging consumers $25 to recycle a TV or monitor at its stores, a service previously offered for free. The change followed similar fees charged by other state and local agencies to cover the growing costs to dispose of and recycle such products.

But it still recycles batteries, ink cartridges, computers and printers for free.

Best Buy has said the retailer's electronic waste recycling program has been growing 20 percent a year and that the company collects about one-third of all electronic waste in Minnesota.

Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113