ISRI invites entries for 2017 Design for Recycling Award

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Washington D.C-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has invited entries for its prestigious 2017 Design for Recycling (DFR) Award. The DFR, ISRI’s highest award, recognizes pioneering initiatives by manufacturers in designing innovative product with recycling in mind.

According to Robin Wiener, president of ISRI, the DFR Award encourages manufacturers to give equal priority to the product’s ability to be recycled, while designing a product, along with other considerations including its cost of manufacture and its appearance. The Award persuades manufacturers to produce products that benefit not only economy, but also environment. It rewards companies, designers and manufacturers that develop products that can be easily and safely recycled without causing environmental impacts.

In order to be eligible for ISRI’s Design for Recycling Award, the product must contain the maximum amount of materials that are recyclable. The product must be easily recycled through existing or newly developed recycling processes and procedures. Also, the cost to recycle the product should not exceed the value of its recycled materials. The product must not contain any hazardous material that are not recyclable or which may hold back the entire recycling process. The products will be judged on the basis of time and cost involved to recycle them. The ISRI manual specifies that the products sent as entries must ensure reduced use of raw materials through inclusion of recycled materials and components. Overall, the product must enhance recyclability possibilities and reduce environmental impacts.

The application window for online entries will remain open until January 20, 2017. The deadline for additional information is fixed as February 3, 2017. The received applications will be reviewed during February 10-23, 2017. A final notification will be issued to applicants by February 24, 2017. The winner of the Award will be honored during the ISRI 2017 Convention and Exposition scheduled to be held 22-27 April, 2016 in New Orleans.

It must be noted that the ISRI 2016 Design for Recycling Award was won by Samsung Electronics America for the use of environmentally-conscious materials and incorporation of advanced recyclable design in its 2016 Curved Full HD TV. The 2016 Curved Full HD TV features easy-to-disassemble, snap-together parts that are made with minimal chemical content. The TV is easy for recyclers to disassemble as it contains very less number of screws. According Samsung, it takes only less than ten minutes to disassemble the 2016 Curved Full HD TV. Moreover, significant improvement was made to its design through substitution of conventional plastic by a novel material produced from greenhouse gas.

The previous award winners include LG Electronics, Inc. (2015), Dell Inc. (2014), Cascades Fine Papers group (2012), Wind Simplicity (2011), Coca-Cola Recycling Company (2010), The Herman Miller Company (2009), The US Environmental Protection Agency (2007) and Hewlett Packard (2006). No award was presented during 2008 and 2013.

About ISRI

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) is the Voice of the Recycling Industry. ISRI represents more than 1,600 companies in 21 chapters nationwide that process, broker and industrially consume scrap commodities, including metals, paper, plastics, glass, rubber, electronics and textiles. With headquarters in Washington, DC, the Institute provides safety, education, advocacy, and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the U.S. economy, global trade, the environment and sustainable development.