Today a piece of great news came from Samsung for the U.S. as Samsung Electronics America got two grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
These honours include the following awards;
- A Gold Tier Award, the EPA’s highest award for the responsible recycling of electronic waste (e-waste).
- A Sustained Excellence Award, a new EPA accolade.
- In addition, Samsung’s SolarCell remote control, introduced in early 2021 and developed to reduce battery waste and help narrow the loop on plastic waste, also won an honorary recognition.
The US EPA SMM Programme
- These awards were based on the recognition by US EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) program, where the victors were recognized in a virtual grants ceremony.
- SMM Grant 2021 EPA’s SMM Gadgets Challenge program recognizes brands that have utilized inventive techniques in using materials for reducing pollution. Samsung has been associated with the SMM since 2011 & got many recognitions.
Samsung’s Contribution & Recognition
- The EPA SMM Gold Level Grant, which Samsung has won for the eighth year in a push, recognizes brilliance in e-waste collection in the U.S. Samsung collects and reuses 100 million pounds of e-waste each year within the U.S.
- Since 2008, Samsung has reused over a billion pounds of hardware, moved them out of U.S. landfills, and recouped reusable materials with a target of putting 500,000 tons of reused plastic in its products universally by 2030.
- Samsung is also working on sun-powered batteries to further control & eliminate the waste of more than 200 million A.A. batteries from the earth. This innovation available on Samsung K and 8K QLED TVs (Neo, Q80A, Q70A, Q60A) and MicroLED are expected to eliminate the waste of 99 million A.A. batteries and avoid 5,840 greenhouse gas GHG.
Additionally, in January 2022, Samsung announced advancements in the second generation of its SolarCell remote control, which can now draw power from radio frequencies into devices like Wi-Fi routers. Remote controls have also been incorporated into more Samsung products, such as new Samsung T.V.s and home appliances.
It seems that Samsung will continue to work with the U.S. to reduce pollution, as stated by the respective officials; for now, we leave you with the statements from both US EPA & Samsung.
“At Samsung, we’re making sustainability the driving force of our bold innovations and we’re deeply honored by the EPA’s recognition of those efforts,”
-Mark Newton, Head of Corporate Sustainability for Samsung Electronics America.
“It’s going to take all of us working together to build a sustainable future, and I applaud the organizations recognized today for their leadership in essential electronic recycling efforts.”
-EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
We provide the relevant links if you are interested in Samsung’s responsible recycling programs and innovative sustainability efforts.
