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Appliance Recycling Centers of America (ARCA) Announces Plans to Open ApplianceSmart Factory Outlet in Rochester, Minnesota

The new ApplianceSmart Factory Outlet will be located at 3551 Commercial Drive SW, which is a high-visibility rapidly growing retail corridor located at the intersection of Highway 52 and South Broadway. Neighboring national retailers include Fleet Farm and Dick's Sporting Goods. The new factory outlet will be ApplianceSmart's firstMinnesota location beyondthe Twin Cities metropolitan area and the nineteenth outlet nationally.

Like all ApplianceSmart Factory Outlets, this new location will carry a wide range of special-buy major household appliance brands, including Whirlpool, Maytag, GE, Frigidaire, Jenn-Air, Amana, Bosch and KitchenAid. Special-buy appliances, which ApplianceSmart sells at a significant discount to retail, include new in-the-box closeouts, factory overruns, discontinued models and thousands of discounted out-of-box items.

Edward R. (Jack) Cameron, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are very excited to be opening our first ApplianceSmart Factory Outlet inRochester to better serve our southernMinnesota customers. This latest location is part of our continued strategic plan to fill in key markets inMinnesota by finding the right retail locations at the right prices. Our new factory outlet inRochester will be in a prime location with dense traffic patterns and wonderful visibility to commuters and shoppers."

Cameron continued: "Our plan is to continue to grow ApplianceSmart at a controlled pace by penetrating existing markets and extending our presence regionally. We recently announced plans to open an outlet inMarietta, Georgia, which will be the fifth store in theAtlanta market, and we just opened our third outlet in theSan Antonio market. The addition of an ApplianceSmart outlet inRochester will further our strategy by expanding our operations to cover a significantly greater portion ofMinnesota."

About ARCA

ARCA is one of the nation's largest recyclers of major household appliances for the energy conservation programs of electric utilities. Through its ApplianceSmart operation, ARCA is also one of the nation's leading retailers of special-buy household appliances, primarily those manufactured by Maytag, GE, Frigidaire and Whirlpool. These special-buy appliances, which include close-outs, factory overruns and scratch-and-dent units, typically are not integrated into manufacturers' normal distribution channels. ApplianceSmart sells these virtually new appliances at a discount to full retail, offers a 100% money-back guarantee and provides warranties on parts and labor. As of September 2008, ApplianceSmart was operating seventeen factory outlets: six in theMinneapolis/St. Paul market; four in theColumbus, Ohio, market; four in theAtlanta market; and three inSan Antonio, Texas. The Company previously announced that it will be opening its fifth retail outlet in theAtlanta market in November 2008. The signing of the lease for Rochester, Minnesota, will bring the total count of ApplianceSmart stores to nineteen.

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including the risks associated with general economic conditions, competition in the retail and recycling industries and regulatory risks. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in ARCA's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other risks may be detailed from time to time in reports to be filed with the SEC.

Visit our websites at http://www.arcainc.com and http://www.appliancesmart.com.

SOURCE Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc.