The Golden Crane represents the Kommersant Initiative’s recognition of Samsung Electronics’ efforts to help keep the environment clean

Kommersant Initiative recognizes the best corporate and individual projects across four categories: “Culture”, “Charity and social responsibility”, “Ecology” and “Individual contribution”. As part of the award, presented by the Kommersant Publishing House, two environmental projects by Samsung Electronics were honored. First is the installation of ecoboxes in the company’s service centers, and second is the “School of recycling: electronics” initiative created to raise awareness about protection of the environment and promote a responsible attitude towards waste disposal among students in Russian schools.

The “Eco Recycling” program was implemented in 2010 and includes the installation of special containers in Samsung service centers throughout Russia for the collection of recycled portable equipment such as smartphones, tablets and portable music players from the public and their subsequent disposal.

The large-scale federal environmental campaign “School of recycling: electronics” was initiated by Samsung Electronics at the beginning of 2018 in conjunction with the Foundation for Environmental Management, an NGO in Russia. The main goal of the program is raising ecological awareness, reduction of environmental harm caused by the disposal of e-waste, development of skills for environmentally responsible behavior, resource conservation, and separate collection of hazardous waste. As part of the campaign, over 400 participating schools installed ecoboxes where students can dispose of old batteries and accumulators. Ecology classes were also held for the pupils, where the children were taught about the importance of recycling electronics and the protection of the environment.

To date, over 500 tons of e-Waste have been collected by schools and municipalities as part of this project.

“Samsung Electronics is committed to protecting the environment at a global level,” said Rinat Nigmatullin, Head of Field Service Group, CIS Office, Samsung Electronics. “By paying attention to ecology at each design and production stage, we seek to minimize its negative impact on the environment in all areas of its activities.”

What is Upcycling?

Upcycling is the process of finding new and useful applications for old items or devices.

Why is it Important?

According to the 2017 Global E-waste Monitor, nearly 45 million metric tons of e-waste is discarded annually. Finding innovative ways to repurpose older devices will save more tech from ending up in landfills, conserve considerable amounts of resources, and ultimately create a more sustainable future.

What Does Samsung’s Program Do?

Headquartered in Seoul, the Galaxy Upcycling team explores simple, ‘do-it-yourself’ ways for people to repurpose older Galaxy devices. Over the past year, the team has taken the show on the road, helping others learn how to conveniently connect their old devices to everyday household objects via the Internet of Things (IoT).

What are Some of Their Solutions?

One fun example of the team’s solutions is their Smart Fish Tank Monitor, which enables you to instantly feed your fish and turn on the aquarium light via text message. Another, the Smart Pet Bowl, helps on-the-go pet owners feed their furry little friend, and even snaps a photo of the pet eating that owners can view on their phone.

Additional Images:

Passionate about the environment, the Galaxy Upcycling team finds ingenious ways to repurpose old Galaxy smartphones instead of throwing them out

Galaxy devices are equipped with many useful parts such like cameras and network modules, giving them the power to transform normal devices into connected ones

The Smart Fish Tank monitors various factors in the fish tank and also enables users to feed the fish or turn on an aquarium light by text message

The Smart Pet Bowl takes advantage of the old phone’s plastic packaging and enables pet parents to feed their cats on the go.

The Smart Pet Bowl can even send pictures to the user when the pet eats from the bowl

Galaxy Upcycling solutions were exhibited at Samsung Developer Conference 2017, encouraging visitors to think twice before throwing out smart devices