Samsung Receives Leadership Award for e-Waste Collection

Samsung received the inaugural eCycling Leadership Award from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^® for leading recycling efforts in the electronics industry. The award acknowledges the amount of e-waste Samsung collected in 2012 and the company’s leadership in working with communities, such as Salt Lake City, Dallas and Boston, to solve complex e-waste issues.

Samsung collected and responsibly recycled more than 92.5 million pounds of e-waste in 2012 and more than 300 million pounds of e-waste since its Samsung Recycling Direct program began in 2008.

The award was presented by CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro during a ceremony at the association’s 2013 Annual Member Meeting held in Los Angeles this week. This is the first year the organization is presenting awards to leading companies through their eCycling Leadership Initiative.

“We want to make recycling electronics as easy as purchasing electronics. And through the efforts of leaders like Samsung, and CEA’s efforts to promote eCycling directly to consumers via our GreenerGadgets.org resource, we have made great progress toward that goal.”

CEA’s eCycling Leadership Initiative aims to promote awareness of electronics recycling opportunities nationwide while increasing the amount of electronics responsibly recycled.

“Samsung is honored to receive this recognition from the industry for our leadership efforts in electronics recycling,” said David Steel, Executive Vice President of Strategy for Samsung Electronics North America. “When our recycling program started in 2008, we made a commitment to only work with e-Stewards certified recyclers, and we continue to set the bar within the industry, increasing the number of pounds we collect each year.”

Samsung was the first electronics manufacturer to become an e-Stewards Enterprise, which means the company only works with recycling vendors that meet strict social and environmental requirements. E-Stewards certified recyclers do not incinerate, send waste to landfills, or export toxic waste to developing countries, according to the E-Stewards restrictions on processing materials of concern.

Beyond responsibly processing e-waste, Samsung also understands the importance of providing consumers with convenient opportunities to recycle their old electronics. The company makes it as easy as possible by offering collection in all 50 states, with more than 700 fixed locations, and a mail-back program through their website: www.samsung.com/recyclingdirect.

In addition to accomplishments in recycling, Samsung is also a leader in making energy efficient and environmentally preferable electronics. The company has been a partner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program since 1996, and has received recognition each year during the last five years for its efforts to promote energy efficient products. The company is also a leader in environmental certifications, with nearly 3,000 products globally recognized by third-party certification programs.