Samsung, LG receive EPA awards

Samsung and LG Electronics received awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their recycling efforts.

The EPA is an agency of the United States federal government established to protect human and environmental health.

It annually honors electronics and IT companies with product designs and manufacturing processes that reflect good environmental practices and recycle components instead of burying them in landfills.

Samsung and LG received gold-tier awards for their achievements in terms of their sustainable materials management (SMM) programs. Other winners include Dell, China’s TCL, Japan’s Sony, Staples and Xerox.

The EPA also recognized Samsung and LG’s efforts to boost energy-savings initiatives and expand the production of electronic products with high energy efficiency.

The award winners recycled electronics goods totaling as much as 276,000 tons over the past year, diverting the waste from landfills, the EPA said.

Their achievements were seen as proving that innovative management practices can protect the environment.

The award will be presented next year at the Consumer Electronics Show, scheduled to take place in Las Vegas in January.

BY JINMINJI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]