Dell receives ISRI 2014 Design for Recycling Award

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, D.C., has named Dell Inc., Round Rock, Texas, the recipient of its 2014 Design for Recycling (DFR) Award for two of its tablets and a laptop model that ISRI says emphasize recycling during every phase of their life cycle.

ISRI gives the DFR Award to a company that produces a product with end-of-life recycling in mind. The award recognizes proactive steps made by manufacturers that have actively incorporated DFR principles into their products and processes.

“As the Voice of the Recycling Industry, ISRI is proud to present the 2014 Design for Recycling Award to Dell for prioritizing recycling in the manufacture of its tablets, laptops and similar products,” says Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “As Dell demonstrates, effective recycling begins at the drawing board. There were many strong contenders for this year’s award, but Dell’s strong commitment to sustainability, both through its own practices and for those who use its products, rose above the crowd. As more and more manufacturers follow Dell’s lead and place a strong emphasis on recycling at the beginning of the design phase, we look forward to many more qualified applicants for the DFR Award in the future.”

Dell’s Latitude 10 and XPS 10 tablets and its Latitude E7240 laptop have been recognized with the award. They were designed with recycling in mind through striving for modularity in design, clear labelling of parts for identification, minimal use of glues/adhesives and convenient disassembly guides, ISRI says. The company’s use of recycled materials, including nearly 8 million pounds of recycled-content plastic in its desktops and monitors, sustainable bamboo and mushrooms for cushion material and postharvest wheat waste mixed with recycled-content corrugate for boxes further adds to Dell’s dedication to recycling from the very early stages of product creation, ISRI says. 

“We are honored to have received the 2014 Design for Recycling (DFR) Award for our Latitude 10, Latitude E7240 and XPS 10,” says Ed Boyd, vice president of Experience Design, Dell. “Not only do we think of our customers when we design our products, we actively consider the environment at every stage of the product lifecycle. This award validates the hard work and thoughtfulness we put into each and every product design and we’re excited to continue to push these responsible design principles forward.”

Dell will receive the award April 10, 2014, during the 2014 ISRI Convention and Exposition in Las Vegas.

To be eligible for ISRI’s Design for Recycling Award, a product must be designed/redesigned and manufactured to:

• contain the maximum amount of materials that are recyclable;
• be easily recycled through current or newly designed recycling processes and procedures;
• be cost effective to recycle whereby the cost to recycle does not exceed the value of its recycled materials;
• be free of hazardous materials that are not recyclable or impede the recycling process;
• minimize the time and cost involved to recycle the product;
• reduce the use of raw materials by including recycled materials and/or components; and
• have a net gain in the overall recyclability of the product while reducing the overall negative impact on the environment.