Washington, D.C. –The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Inc. today applauded LIFECYCLExpress® a Division of CXtec® on earning the prestigious industry designation R2/RIOS™ Certified Electronics Recycler®. R2/RIOS™ remains the only certification standard tailored specifically for recyclers and focused on promoting quality products, environmental protection and the health and safety of workers both in the United States and abroad.
“These certifications put LIFECYCLExpress at the forefront of this rapidly growing industry,” ReMA President Robin Wiener said. “There is no higher or more exacting standard. When a company becomes R2/RIOS™ certified, it is announcing to their competitors and colleagues alike that they have the very highest business and social responsibility standards, but more so, that they are willing to prove it.”
R2/RIOS™, the most affordable and widely used standard, is derived from a combination of two of the industry’s most stringent sets of guidelines: R2, Responsible Recycling Practices, and RIOS™, the Recycling Industry Operating Standard™. Certification to the two standards for responsible electronics reuse and recycling is recognized in the market as a company that is a Certified Electronics Recycler®.
“Becoming a Certified Electronics Recycler assures customers that they can trust LIFECYCLExpress to handle their used electronics in a safe, secure and environmentally friendly way,” says Peter E. Belyea, President of CXtec. “It removes the uncertainty organizations have in finding a reliable, responsible e-scrap partner.”
Electronics recycling is a fast-growing industry that creates good-paying, green jobs and boosts the U.S. and global economies, all while protecting the environment and promoting health, safety and security throughout the electronics recycling process.
According to the 2011 Electronics Recycling Industry Survey, the U.S. electronics recycling industry continues to show tremendous growth and strong domestic capacity. The $5 billion-a-year industry that employs more than 30,000 full-time workers in the United States collected and processed over 3.5 million tons of used and end-of-life electronics equipment in 2010, up from 1.8 million tons in 2009.
RIOS™ is the first and only standard for integrated quality, environmental and health and safety (QEH&S) management systems developed specifically for the recycling industry. RIOS™ was developed by ISRI, and includes standards for safe and responsible electronics recycling.
R2 was the first recycling standard specifically targeting electronics recycling and was developed and supported by stakeholders including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), major computer OEMs such as Lenovo and Dell, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), state and local governments and ISRI. R2 includes general principles and specific practices for recyclers disassembling or reclaiming used electronics equipment; its strict “Reuse, Recovery, Dispose” hierarchy of methods ensures that electronic scrap is properly handled.
Obama Administration, in an interagency report, has taken concrete, practical steps to address how the U.S. government will manage its used and end-of-life electronics by endorsing third-party certifications such as R2 / RIOS™ that will lead to an exchange of U.S. technology and best practices to help strengthen the environmentally responsible processing of electronics globally.
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