US EPA Honors Industry Leaders for Sustainability and Electronics Recycling Success

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the winners of the 2017 Sustainable Materials management (SMM) Electronics Challenge. The award honors electronics manufacturers, retailers and brand owners for their outstanding efforts to promote sustainability and recyclability of electronic products.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt congratulated the award winners. The winners have demonstrated unique methods to ensure that sustainability techniques are incorporated even in the product design and development phase. All the winners have contributed towards achieving 100% commitment in sending collected devices to certified electronics refurbishers and recyclers. In this manner, they have not only contributed to economic growth, but also has done significantly to protect human health and the environment, Pruitt added.

The winners of the Gold Tier award are Dell Inc., Samsung Electronics, Staples Inc. and Xerox. The Silver Tier award was won by Best Buy Co. Inc., LG Electronics USA Inc., Vizio Inc. The winner of the Bronze Tier award was Sony Electronics Inc. Incidentally, Gold Tier refers to organizations with well-developed collection programs. Silver Tier category comprises of organizations with modest collection programs, whereas the Bronze Tier includes those organizations with no existing collection programs.

In the Champions Award Category, LG’s OLED TVs won the Product Award. The OLED TVs eliminate the use of several hazardous materials in comparison with LED/LCD televisions. In addition, the TV’s are manufactured in such a way that it is most easy to disassemble and recycle. Also, Best Buy received Honorable Mention in Product Category.

The Non-Product Award for 2017 was won by Staples for their outreach and public education campaign titled “Make More Happen” which helped to create awareness about Staples’ Technology Recycling Program in more than 6 million people. The Cutting Edge Award, presented to innovators of new game-changing ideas in electronics sustainability, was won by Samsung for their Galaxy Upcycle program which helps to convert old phones to new technology products such as televisions, gaming consoles and IoT devices. Also, Dell received Honorable mention in this category.

The awards were presented during a ceremony held during CES 2018.