The FINANCIAL — Samsung received the inaugural eCycling Leadership Award from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) for leading recycling efforts in the electronics industry, according to Samsung.
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.
“Samsung has been at the forefront of the electronics recycling effort in our eCycling Leadership Initiative and exemplifies our industry’s commitment to responsible environmental stewardship,” said Walter Alcorn, CEA’s vice president of environmental affairs and industry sustainability. “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,” Alcorn added.
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,” he added.
