Entries being accepted for ISRI award

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) announced that the competition for its Design for Recycling Award is now open and entries from interested companies are being accepted. This award recognizes and honors those companies that design and manufacture goods that, at the end of their useful life, can be recycled safely and efficiently.

While many products are inherently recyclable, other products – due to design or constituent materials used in production – are not. Manufacturers can eliminate or reduce these barriers to recyclability by substituting or altering these hard-to-recycle materials or components, thereby increasing recycling yields and providing even greater benefits to the environment as well as economic benefits.

The Design for Recycling Award is of particular relevance with today’s desire for a more sustainable environment and economy. For more than two decades, ISRI has promoted Design for Recycling, a voluntary program that encourages manufacturers to fully consider end-of-life recyclability in the earliest stages of product design. The Design for Recycling Award honors a program, company, or individual whose product or program design has incorporated one or more of the following:

• A reduction in the number of different recyclable materials;
• A reduction or elimination of hazardous constituents;
• An increased yield of the product’s recyclables;
• An improvement in the safety of recycling;
• A design that allows for easy disassembly for recycling.

The most recent award was presented in 2009 to furniture manufacturer Herman Miller for its 40-year commitment to improving recyclability and reducing waste in the design and manufacture of its products.

The EPA was honored in 2006 for its overall leadership in creating innovative design partnerships, and its dedication to empower businesses and industry sectors to incorporate environmental considerations, along with performance and cost considerations, into decision-making processes.

Computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard was honored in 2005 for its documented efforts to reduce the use of hazardous substances, to simplify component design, and to build computers and printing products for easy disassembly and recycling.

Companies interested in being considered should submit a letter outlining how they have embraced the concept of Design for Recycling in their design and manufacturing process to Mark Reiter, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., 1615 L Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036 by March 2, 2010.