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| ý | Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |

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| o | Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |

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| Minnesota(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)                  |   | 41-1454591(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| 7400 Excelsior Boulevard, Minneapolis, Minnesota(Address of principal executive offices) |   | 55426-4517(Zip Code) |
| Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  952-930-9000             |

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| Common Stock, without par valueTitle of each class |   | NASDAQ Capital MarketName of each exchange on which registered |

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| Large accelerated filer o                                            |   | Accelerated filer o |
| Non-accelerated filer o(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |   | Smaller reporting company x |

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| April 14, 2015 | APPLIANCE RECYCLING CENTERS OF AMERICA, INC. (Registrant) |
|           |   |   |
|           | By | /s/ Mark G. Eisenschenk |
|           |   | Mark G. Eisenschenk |
|           |   | President and Chief Executive Officer |

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|                                            |  |  |  |  |
| Signature                                  |   | Title |   | Date |
|                                       |   |   |   |   |
| Principal Executive Officer                |   |   |   |   |
| /s/ Mark G. Eisenschenk                    |   | Chief Executive Officer and President |   | April 14, 2015 |
| Mark G. Eisenschenk                        |   |   |   |   |
|                                       |   |   |   |   |
| Principal Financial and Accounting Officer |   |   |   |   |
| /s/ Jeffery Ostapeic                       |   | Chief Financial Officer |   | April 14, 2015 |
| Jeffery Ostapeic                           |   |   |   |   |
|                                       |   |   |   |   |
| Directors                                  |   |   |   |   |
| /s/ Edward R. Cameron                      |   | Chairman of the Board |   | April 14, 2015 |
| Edward R. Cameron                          |   |   |   |   |
|                                       |   |   |   |   |
| /s/ Steve Lowenthal                        |   | Director |   | April 14, 2015 |
| Steve Lowenthal                            |   |   |   |   |
|                                       |   |   |   |   |
| /s/ Randy Pearce                           |   | Director |   | April 14, 2015 |
| Randy Pearce                               |   |   |   |   |
|                                       |   |   |   |   |
| /s/ Dean R. Pickerell                      |   | Director |   | April 14, 2015 |
| Dean R. Pickerell                          |   |   |   |   |

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| ExhibitNo.  |   | Description |
| 3.1         |   | Restated Articles of Incorporation of Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. [filed as Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 1999 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 3.2         |   | Bylaws of Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. as amended December 26, 2007 [filed as Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on January 2, 2008 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.1*       |   | Amended and Restated 1997 Stock Option Plan, effective April 25, 2002 [filed as Exhibit 28.1 to Post-Effective Amendment to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-28571) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.2*       |   | 2006 Stock Option Plan [filed as Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-163804) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.3*       |   | 2011 Stock Compensation Plan [filed as Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-176591) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.4*       |   | Amended and Restated Employment Agreement dated February 9, 2015, between Mark Eisenschenk and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.1 to the Company's Form 8-K dated February 9, 2015 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.5*       |   | Employment Agreement dated February 9, 2015, between Jeffery Ostapeic and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.2 to the Company's Form 8-K dated February 9, 2015 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.6        |   | Lease Agreement for Leaseback of St. Louis Park Building [filed as Exhibit No. 10.37 to the Company’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 3, 2009 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.7‡ |   | Appliance Sales and Recycling Agreement dated October 21, 2009, between General Electric Company and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.38 to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 2010 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.8‡ |   | Amendment No. 3, dated July 1, 2013, to the Appliance Sales and Recycling Agreement dated October 21, 2009, between General Electric Company and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.1 to the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 28, 2013 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.9        |   | Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated January 24, 2011, between PNC Bank, National Association and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.11 to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2011 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.10       |   | Amendment No. 1, dated December 30, 2011, to Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated January 24, 2011, between PNC Bank, National Association and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.8 to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.11       |   | Amendment No. 2, dated March 22, 2012, to Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated January 24, 2011, between PNC Bank, National Association and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.1 to the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.12       |   | Amendment No. 3, dated March 14, 2013, to Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated January 24, 2011, between PNC Bank, National Association and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.10 to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 29, 2012 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.13       |   | Amendment No. 4, dated September 27, 2013, to Revolving Credit, Term Loan and Security Agreement dated January 24, 2011, between PNC Bank, National Association and the Company [filed as Exhibit No. 10.3 to the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 28, 2013 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.14       |   | Term Loan dated January 24, 2011, between PNC Bank, National Association and ARCA Advanced Processing, LLC [filed as Exhibit No. 10.12 to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2011 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |

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| 10.15       |   | Term Loan facility dated March 10, 2011, between Susquehanna Bank and ARCA Advanced Processing, LLC, pursuant to the guidelines of the U.S. Small Business Administration 7(a) Loan Program, including $2,100,000 term loan, $1,400,000 term loan and $1,250,000 term loan, guaranties by the Company and others, and security agreements [filed as Exhibit No. 10.13 to the Company’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 2, 2011 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 10.16       |   | ARCA Advanced Processing, LLC Joint Venture Agreement dated October 20, 2009, between 4301 Operations, LLC and the Company, as amended by Amendment No.1 dated June 3, 2010, and Amendment No. 2 dated February 15, 2011 [filed as Exhibit No. 10.16 to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2013 (File No. 0-19621) and incorporated herein by reference]. |
| 21.1+       |   | Subsidiaries of Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc. |
| 23.1+       |   | Consent of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. |
| 31.1+       |   | Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| 31.2+       |   | Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| 32.1† |   | Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| 32.2† |   | Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| 101**       |   | The following materials from our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2015, formatted in Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL): (i) the Consolidated Balance Sheets, (ii) the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income, (iii) the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, (iv) the Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity, (v) the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, and (vI) document and entity information. |
| *           |   | Items that are management contracts or compensatory plans or arrangements required to be filed as an exhibit pursuant to Item 14(a)3 of this Form 10-K. |
| +           |   | Filed herewith. |
| †     |   | Furnished herewith. |
| ‡     |   | Portions of this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment. |
| **          |   | Pursuant to Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the XBRL related information in Exhibit 101 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, and shall not be deemed part of a registration statement, prospectus or other document filed under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filings. |