On International E-Waste Day, Samsung India joined the global call for responsible e-waste management with a special awareness drive across its 1200+ customer service centers. The initiative, part of Samsung’s ongoing ‘Care for Clean India’ program, focused on helping consumers understand the importance of safe e-waste disposal and the small steps they can take toward a cleaner environment.

At Samsung service centers across the country, walk-in customers were engaged by customer care officers and informed about the hazards of improper e-waste handling. Awareness materials, including short videos, posters, and interactive discussions, highlighted how every responsible action — from returning old electronics to recycling accessories — contributes to reducing electronic waste.

Customers were also encouraged to take a pledge for responsible disposal, symbolizing their commitment to protecting the environment. As a small token of appreciation, many received saplings or plant seeds — a gesture that connected the act of recycling with the idea of renewal.

International E-Waste Day is a reminder that sustainability begins with awareness. Through service centers, Samsung aims to make it easy for customers to learn about responsible disposal and take part in building a cleaner community.

Samsung’s Care for Clean India program provides consumers with simple ways to hand over old or end-of-life electronic products for safe recycling. Consumers can also request free pick-up services for large appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines, irrespective of brand.

This International E-Waste Day, Samsung encourages everyone to take a small but meaningful step — pledge to dispose of e-waste responsibly.

To schedule a free e-waste collection, consumers can simply WhatsApp 1800 5 7267864.

Because caring for our environment starts with the choices we make every day.

More Information here:

There are all kinds of waste – Plastic waste, Domestic Waste, Chemical waste, Solid waste, Bio degradable and non-biodegradable waste and all of it is right in front of us. No wonder that during Solve for Tomorrow roadshows, some of the most discussed and relevant topics among GenZ were issues related to waste management.

Team Planeteers

Riya, Akshita and Nikita

“Once you learn how damaged the waste management ecosystems are, it’s not really something you can unsee,” said, 19 year old Riya P Dey, an engineering student from Uttar Pradesh. “To me doing my bit to save the environment is the biggest priority right now.”

Riya is a member of team Planteers who are working on an Underwater Autonomous Vehicle that will have the ability to detect micro and nano plastics (and their concentrations) and filter them out of natural water bodies, while Marine Conservers are designing a self propelled boat that will aid in garbage collection on rivers.

Riya, Akshita and Nikita’s research on the subject led them to the conclusion that with their unparalleled functional properties at a relatively lower cost, plastics have become the ubiquitous propellant force of modern society.  “The microplastic and nanoplastic pollution collectively called micronanoplastics is highly toxic to the environment,” said Akshita.

Team Aero Scientist

19-year-old A Sai Ajay from Andhra Pradesh has an ambitious plan to get rid of the debris in space. He is highly motivated to work in the field of space environment.

Ajay from team Aero Scientist

Ajay is an aerospace engineering undergraduate, with technical knowledge on designing, analyzing and simulating software for better understanding of waste in the space.

“There are six challenges unique to the space environment we deal with gravity, the atmosphere, vacuum, micrometeoroids and debris, radiation, and charged particles. My aim and plan is to design a system that will remove space debris,” said Sai Ajay.

Marine Conservers

Oceans play a fundamental role in mitigating climate change. The sea absorbs harmful toxins and releases oxygen. Proper waste management systems can help preserve ocean health and reduce an economies overall greenhouse gas emissions by 10-15.

Durga, Charan Sai and Venkat Subba from Team Marine Conservers

Durga, Charan Sai and Venkat Subba, a trio of 19-year-olds from Andhra Pradesh are designing a self-propelled boat that will aid in garbage collection on rivers. They call themselves the Marine Conservers.

“Marine plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the worlds ability to deal with them. Millions of marine lives are dying due to plastics every year. We are in dire need of an immediate action,” said team Marine Conservers.

Team Green Ranger

Mayur Patel is a 21-year-old engineer from Gujarat. The only member in Team Green Ranger wants to create a mechanism of garbage collection robot which will work closer to home – in our rural and urban public spaces.

Team Green Ranger

Mayur’s solution aims at reducing human involvement during waste collection, resulting in fewer health concerns. It will also help waste management bodies to minimise total waste material costs.

“The robots would be useful in both rural and urban regions, resulting in better and healthier ways of waste collection,” said Mayur.

NSS Team

“When you can’t get rid of something that is not useful, transform it into something relevant.”

“As a science student, I have grown up working around this philosophy and I am so glad I have found the perfect teammates in Sujitha and Nanda,” said Sai Supriya from Team NSS based in Andhra Pradesh. These three 19 year-olds are taking an inventive approach to plastic disposal by turning it into strong paper that can be used for packaging, and will be biodegradable.

Sujitha, Nanda and Sujitha from team NSS

Their plan is to create a scheme called REPLAN, where the processed and de-structured plastic is mixed with cotton fibre rags and then it undergoes multiple stages of treatment to produce a pulp that is turned into paper. Because of its strength and durability, this paper can be used for creating cartons as well.

In our next article, we’re excited to bring you the details of more entries received under Environment. These Top 50 entrants will now attend a 3-day bootcamp at FIIT-IIT Delhi campus, where they will receive expert advice, guidance and mentoring.

Here’s everything you need to know about Solve for Tomorrow’s innovation themes –

Education: Enabling education for a sustainable tomorrow remains pivotal to India’s economic growth. With Samsung India, the pillar represents a window of opportunity for participants to contribute to self-reliance and support a better livelihood for thousands of people across the country. By 2030, India aims to eliminate gender disparity, upskill the number of youth and adults, and ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.

Environment: Climate change is disrupting national economies with massive carbon footprint and ever-rising temperatures posing a serious concern. Under its Solve for Tomorrow program, Samsung India aims to empower participants to combat the disproportionate impacts of this global phenomenon. The pillar seeks to strengthen adaptive capacity to climate-related calamities and find solutions to save our planet for future generations.

Healthcare: Poor health is a major contributor to mental illness and deprivation amongst individuals. With Solve for Tomorrow program, advents including the eradication of diseases, addressing new challenges like COVID-19, global access to medicine and vaccines, and current and new health emergencies, are some of the key areas that need innovation.

Agriculture: India’s key livelihood agriculture, shares a major chunk of the overall GDP. The sector, however, is still dawned with challenges like deteriorating natural resources and climate change. With this program, the prospect to overcome hurdles extends to thinking wisely about enhanced hybrid varieties and implementing improved management practices, which conserve soil and water resources apart from other solutions.

Samsung believes in using innovation to positively transform communities and create a better life for people. This transformation will be led by the youth and empowering them through education and technological innovations is one of the best ways we can prepare our youth to boldly face the world of the future.

Samsung’s latest education and innovation competition Solve for Tomorrow is teaming up with India’s youth power to bring in the transformations that India needs today, strengthening our vision of Powering Digital India.

Solve for Tomorrow, a Samsung citizenship initiative, is inviting India’s brightest young minds to come up with innovative ideas that can transform the lives of people and communities around them.

The inaugural edition of Solve for Tomorrow aims to provide support to youth in India aged 16-22 years from across cities, towns and villages to turn their ideas into action. The competition is inviting ideas in the areas of Education, Environment, Healthcare and Agriculture, the priority UN Sustainable Development Goals for India.

Support will include mentoring of the top 50 teams (individuals or teams of up to 3 members) by industry experts and Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi) to help enhance their ideas, along with a boot-camp at IIT Delhi, a certificate of participation, and vouchers worth INR 100,000 for online courses in design thinking, STEM, innovation, leadership, among others. The top 10 teams will get the opportunity to visit Samsung India offices, its R&D centres and Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru where they will interact with young Samsung employees and researchers.

The annual program will end with the grand announcement of three national winners, who stand a chance to get mega support of up to INR 1 crore and mentoring support for six months to take their ideas to the next level under the expert guidance of IIT Delhi.

Participants can apply for Solve for Tomorrow, get detailed information on the program and terms and conditions at www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow, starting June 09, 2022 till 5 pm, July 31, 2022.

Mr. Ken Kang, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “At Samsung, harnessing the power of youth is priority. This is what drives us and our global CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People,’ which seeks to empower the next generation to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes. Solve for Tomorrow also takes us a step ahead in our vision of ‘Powering Digital India’ as the country’s strongest partner.”

“With Solve for Tomorrow, we aim to motivate and nurture creative thinking and problem-solving among the youth and encourage them to find innovative technology solutions with a social impact. We want to play our part in strengthening the innovation ecosystem in the country, taking forward the vision of the Government and the people of this country,” he said.

Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, said: “With Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow initiative, we are looking at prospective innovations with impact potential to address the future challenges faced by society. This partnership will enable young change-makers to explore wider opportunities and provide a platform for activating and nurturing their ideas.”

Solve for Tomorrow at a Glance

Who can participate: 16-22 year-olds, individually or in teams of up to 3

Application themes: Education, Environment, Healthcare and Agriculture

What will they get: Online training, mentoring from Samsung & IIT Delhi, Bootcamp at IIT Delhi

What do winners get: Total of up to INR 1 crore to 3 winning teams, mentoring for 6 months

Where can they apply: www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow

From when: Starting June 09, 2022

Till when: Till 5 pm, July 31, 2022

Application Window – Round One

Individuals or teams of up to three can submit their applications on www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow, where they will elaborate on the problem they are solving, the proposed solution and its social impact.

A jury comprising of subject matter experts from FITT, IIT Delhi will shortlist top 50 teams from among all the applications received, based on a selection criteria that includes the best use of technology (app, product or service), creativity, originality of idea, feasibility of the solution with current technology, potential to positively impact society or the environment and the potential to reach its intended target audience.

Idea Development – Round Two

In this round, the top 50 teams will be provided online training on design thinking and will attend a boot camp at IIT Delhi on developing a proof of concept. The teams will also get support from professors and mentors at IIT Delhi to detail out their ideas and start working on their early prototypes.

Each participant from the 50 selected teams will get a certificate of participation and course vouchers of up to INR 100,000 that gets them access to any online course relevant to design thinking, STEM, innovation, entrepreneurship, business skills, management and leadership.

Once teams submit videos on their ideas and prototypes, a jury panel of experts from Samsung will select 10 teams that will move to Round Three. The selection criteria for this round will include development of the idea since original submission, demonstrable use of research and/or testing to understand needs of the target audience, demonstration of design thinking and quality of presentation.

Final Prototype Building – Round Three

Top 10 teams will be given next level of online training covering topics such as prototyping and designing for manufacturing, introduction to business communication, funding opportunities and certifications as well as mentoring from experts at Samsung and IIT Delhi to prepare their ideas for the finale.

Teams will also visit Samsung facilities including its India Headquarters in Gurugram, its R&D centres in Noida and Bengaluru and the world’s largest mobile experience centre at the iconic Opera House in Bengaluru where they will interact with young Samsung employees and researchers.

At the end of this round, the teams will submit their final prototypes and prepare for a live presentation at the Finale Event in front of an eminent jury.

Top 10 teams will be given Samsung hampers worth INR 100,000, which will include exciting Samsung products.

Samsung will offer a total of up to INR 1 crore in grants to three winning teams, getting them one step closer to turn their ideas into their dream startups that can help address India’s key concerns in the areas of Agriculture, Education, Environment and Healthcare.

In addition, winning teams will also get an 85-inch Samsung Flip interactive digital board for their respective schools and colleges.

With the grant, winners will get the opportunity to work with mentors from IIT Delhi for a period of 6 months and get access to an incubation centre at the IIT Delhi campus. During these 6 months, they will work on their ideas and take it to the stage where they can seek consumer validation for their prototypes.

First launched in the US in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow is currently operational in 33 countries globally, and has seen over 1.8 million young people participate worldwide.

Globally, participants in the competition have developed several innovative solutions, such as converting food waste into leather, a portable desalination device equipped with a solar panel to filter polluted water and using coffee grounds to as an alternative energy source to alleviate pollution, among many others.

To find out more and register for the competition in India, visit www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow. Application entry closes at 5 pm on July 31, 2022.

Samsung believes in using innovation to positively transform communities and create a better life for people through its citizenship initiatives. Empowering youth through education is one of the best ways we can prepare our young people to boldly face the world of the future.

Samsung Electronics runs three citizenship programs globally – Samsung Smart School, Samsung Innovation Campus and Solve for Tomorrow – through which it is empowering the leaders of tomorrow and equipping them with the tools they will need to realize meaningful change.

The EPA annually recognizes the top performers within its SMM Program. SMM Electronics Challenge participants are rethinking product life cycles, committing to innovative and responsible electronics management, and reducing environmental impacts. The 2020 SMM Electronics Challenge Award winners will be recognized at a virtual award ceremony later today.

“Samsung is humbled by the EPA’s recognition of our long-term commitment to the proper collection and recycling of e-waste in the United States and the sustainable design innovations that we continue to drive in product packaging,” said Mark Newton, Head of Corporate Sustainability for Samsung Electronics America. “We will continue to make investments to further our environmental stewardship practices and reduce our impact on climate change as we strive towards a greener and better tomorrow.”

“The Electronics Challenge award winners are corporate role models creating new products that show environmental improvement can go hand-in-hand with other technological advances. EPA encourages others to follow their lead by implementing similar innovative approaches,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.

Samsung is one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers and fully embraces the responsibility that comes with our market position to effect change on a large scale to protect the environment. The EPA SMM Gold Tier Award acknowledges our excellence in e-waste collection throughout the U.S. Samsung annually collects and recycles approximately 100 million pounds of e-waste. Since 2008, we’ve recycled over a billion pounds of electronics, diverting them from U.S. landfills and recovering reusable materials.

The EPA SMM Champion Award in the Program Category recognizes Samsung’s innovative Galaxy S10 packaging strategies for its use of material in a more environmentally responsible way. The smartphone’s plastic-free box and interior packaging have been redesigned to reduce its environmental footprint and consume fewer resources. For example, the packaging includes an all-in-one pulp mold for the device and its components to minimize waste. Other adjustments include replacing plastic ties with paper materials. These design change have contributed to making the Galaxy S10’s packaging 32g lighter than that of its predecessors – a 16% packaging weight reduction.

For more information about Samsung’s sustainability efforts, click here, and to learn more about the EPA, please visit www.epa.gov.

“We have been launching such drives across the country and have seen massive participation from our regional offices as well. As a responsible corporate, we believe in preserving the environment for future generations. Electronic waste collection, plastic waste management or such cleanliness drives are all steps taken towards preservation and protection of the environment,” said Sameer Wadhawan, Head of Human Resources at Samsung India.

Over 100 employees participated in this Care for Clean India drive. Armed with cleaning gloves and garbage bags, the group took it upon themselves to rid the park of non-biodegradable waste.

“I am happy that we got the opportunity to participate in this noble activity. At Samsung, we believe in co-prosperity and giving back to the community,” said Jeon Woosung, Customer Satisfaction Team.

In the past, the company has organized tree plantation drives, plastic waste management campaigns across the country that have seen huge participation from employees. Samsung has been pro-actively taking measures to motivate its employees to become more environment conscious through such initiatives.

Love and respect for the environment is instilled in all Samsung employees. They are encouraged to take up projects that help create a greener and cleaner world.

In Tirupati, Samsung employees planted trees and cleaned the city

Recently, Samsung employees in Tirupati in southern India, organized a road show covering 47 kilometers to spread mass awareness about Plastic Waste. They cleaned the city and planted trees.

A sapling plantation drive was organized in Vijaywada

In Vijayawada, another southern Indian town, Samsung employees organized a road rally and waste collection drive to spread awareness about environmental conservation. Employees marched with placards and banners with messages on protection of the environment, all of which were made of eco-friendly material. A sapling plantation drive was organized as well.

Employees in Chennai participated in a Walkathon to spread the message about the hazards of irresponsible disposal of e-waste and plastic waste.

It was heartening to see even school children, teachers and families of employees join in the activities. For instance, in Bengaluru, a school teacher who participated in a painting competition said, “Samsung is a brand that young people look up to. When they send the right message to this generation, it will definitely result in a positive change.”

Samsung Employees in Bengaluru joined school children and teachers in a painting competition

Samsung has two manufacturing units in India, one of which is located in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. It has three R&D centres here. The R&D centre in Bengaluru is the largest outside Korea. Bengaluru is also home to Samsung Opera House, the World’s Largest Mobile Experience Centre.

India is amongst the top 5 countries in e-waste generation*. This includes discarded mobile phones, batteries, laptops, chargers, routers, cables, among other items.

Improper handling of this waste is harmful to the environment and also to the people handling the waste. It is important that this electronic waste is disposed in a responsible manner and this responsibility lies with us.

October 14 is the International E-waste Day and Samsung India employees came forward to celebrate this special day. Electronic waste collection bins were set-up in the Samsung Head Office. Employees queued up in huge numbers with electronic waste of different kinds. In return for all the waste they gave away, all employees were gifted saplings and plant seeds. The activity saw great participation and met with immense enthusiasm.

“As users of technology, we cannot be careless about the disposal of the waste. The gift of saplings make it all the more special,” said Shraddha Upadhyay from the Communications team.

In the Samsung Head Office alone, over 100 kilograms of waste was collected. Similar collection drives were held across the country in different Samsung offices as well. All the e-waste collected will be treated in a responsible way through government authorized recycling companies.

On International E-waste Day through this initiative, Samsung urges all consumers to ensure safe disposal of electronic waste.

*Source: ASSOCHAM and NEC report,2018

Each time you buy a new consumer durable or any electronic device, you get rid of the older one. Ask yourself – are you disposing it in a responsible way?

India is amongst the top 5 countries in e-waste generation*. Electronic waste or e-waste comprises of discarded mobile phones, batteries, laptops, chargers, motherboards, headphones, keyboards, television sets, air conditioners, refrigerators amongst others.

Most people end up selling their e-waste to the informal sector or to kabadiwallas. Improper handling and hazardous methods to extract precious metals from e-waste could prove to be harmful for the environment and the people handling them. Samsung recognizes this challenge and has initiated the Care for Clean India program. Under this program, customers with e-waste need to just call Samsung 1800-5-SAMSUNG or 1800-572-67864. Samsung will collect the e-waste from customers’ doorstep, completely free of cost and take care of the rest. The collected e-waste will be disposed of responsibly through government authorized recycling companies.

The Care for Clean India campaign further cements Samsung India’s commitment to the environment by adhering to the global recycling laws, to raise awareness about responsible disposal of e-waste, reduce generation of e-waste and encourage recycling of e-waste. More importantly, it is an initiative to ensure that we leave a clean and green India for generations to come.

Within a few days of the launch, the campaign has seen participation in huge numbers. Conscious consumers have been calling in to participate actively in the campaign.

Samsung urges you to be a part of this campaign.

A big change is just a phone call away…

Samsung India thanks you for your appreciation and urges all of you to participate in Care for Clean India campaign

*Source: ASSOCHAM and NEC report,2018