Electronics recycling

Sunnking acquires Coast 2 Coast Electronics Recyclers

Brockport, New York-based Sunnking Inc. has announced its recent acquisition of Coast 2 Coast Electronics Recyclers, Syracuse, New York, giving the company a brick-and-mortar presence that it says will help it to better serve central New York and beyond.

Coast 2 Coast has served the Syracuse community for many years, providing collection, data destruction and recycling services for electronics, Sunnking says.

Phil Jakes–Johnson, former owner of Coast 2 Coast, comments, “Sunnking can provide additional services to our customers that we were unable to provide and give our former clients access to a leading and growing company that works hard to keep jobs in upstate New York.”

Founded in 2000, Sunnking refurbishes, resells and recycles electronic devices from residential and commercial suppliers throughout New York state and surrounding areas at facilities in Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester and Brockport, New York.

Information Systems Resources earns multiple industry certifications

Dearborn, Michigan-based Information Systems Resources (ISR) has received multiple certifications for its electronics recycling operations.

The company has received e-Stewards certification, which was originally developed by the Basel Action Network (BAN), Seattle; Responsible Recycling Practices (R2) certification, which is administered by SERI (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International), Boulder, Colorado; ISO 14001, a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization) that governs environmental management systems; and OHSAS 18001, which governs employee safety.

ISR founder and CEO Luther Elliott, says, “ISR is a leader in recycling e-waste because, in addition to extracting valuable resources for reuse by manufacturers, we do so in a way designed to have a minimal impact on the environment.”

ISR processes more than 2 million pounds of unneeded electronics annually, providing cradle-to-grave IT asset management services, including front-end procurement, warehousing, equipment staging, asset tagging, remarketing and recycling.

EPA recognizes DEA’s electronics recycling efforts

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest Jared Blumenfeld has presented the Federal Green Challenge award to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Western Laboratory for increasing its electronics recycling more than any other federal agency in 2014. Blumenfeld presented the national award at the DEA National Lab Directors Conference June 9 in San Francisco.

In 2014, the Western Lab recycled and donated more than 8,200 pounds of electronics, resulting in a nearly 10 percent increase over its baseline from the previous year, an increase greater than any of the more than 400 Federal Green Challenge participants nationwide, according to EPA. The team accomplished this by using a certified electronics recycler to collect and recycle electronic equipment and by donating operational lab instruments to colleges and universities. Additionally, the Western Lab held e-scrap collection events and recycling education activities to increase awareness among staff members.

“We applaud DEA’s waste reduction achievements and hope they inspire more organizations to keep electronics from ending up in landfills,” Blumenfeld says. “Through their hard work, the staff at the Western Lab achieved amazing results—recycling and donating thousands of pounds of electronics in just one year.”

DEA Western Laboratory Director Bryan Henderson says, “Last year presented a unique opportunity for the Western Laboratory to participate in the electronic recycling program at an unprecedented level. Our environmental management team quickly recognized the challenges that the relocation of our laboratory would bring to our traditional recycling activities.”

Henderson continues, “This challenge was utilized as an opportunity to make significant contributions to the recycling program as the team identified and streamlined the equipment necessary to complete our mission.”

The Federal Green Challenge is a national effort through the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Program designed to encourage federal government offices to reduce their environmental impact. Participating offices commit to a 5 percent annual improvement in two of six target areas.