2019 award for recycling-boosting design kicks off

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has launched the 2019 Design for Recycling (DFR) Award.

This is ISRI’s highest award given annually to the most outstanding contribution to products designed with recycling in mind. Robin Wiener, president of ISRI, says issues related to supply and demand of recyclable materials are at the forefront of the industry following China’s quality clampdown and other developments globally during the last 18 months.

Recycling drives demand

‘Design for recycling is the nexus of all these issues. It is one of the solutions that has the potential for the most impact,’ she says. ‘When manufacturers plan how products can safely and efficiently be recycled while on the drawing board it improves the quality of the recycling stream and the supply of recyclable material available.

‘Those manufacturers who go a step further and use recyclable material in products also help drive demand. That is why it is important to recognise the efforts of those companies that go above and beyond with the Design for Recycling Award.’

30-year initiative

ISRI created the award more than 10 years ago as part of an initiative begun more than 30 years ago to encourage manufacturers to consider the ultimate destiny of their products during the design stage. Previous winners include Cascades Fine Papers Group, Coca-Cola Recycling Company, the US Environmental Protection Agency, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, EcoStrate SFS, and the 2018 winner Dell Inc, the first to win it twice.

To be eligible, a product must be designed 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.
• Have a net gain in the overall recyclability of the product while reducing the overall negative impact on the environment.

Interested parties can enter online before the February 1, 2019 deadline.