Tucson, Arizona (NAPSI) - You may be able to save yourself both trouble and money and help save the planet at the same time. It’s easy when you’re careful to recycle your electronic equipment with the aid of a certified recycler.

Many people may be surprised to learn that there is a certification program specifically for the electronics recycling industry. R2/RIOS™ combines two strong certifications, R2 and RIOS™. R2 was created for e-recyclers by a stakeholder group convened by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). RIOS™ was created by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) for any recycler to achieve superior quality, environmental and health & safety management and compliance.

The EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge asks electronics companies to send 100 percent of the used electronics they collect to third-party certified refurbishers and recyclers.

The Good News

Environmental benefits include a decreased amount of products sent to landfills, resulting in resource conservation and sustainability benefits.

The benefit to the people who’ve replaced their tech gadgets is that their financial records, personal photos and confidential correspondences stored on those used electronics are handled only by responsible recyclers. This protects your data through stringent identity theft measures.

How It Works

The first step is testing gadgets to check if they can be refurbished. Products fixed and resold have the least impact on the environment.

The rest are processed to extract plastic, steel, aluminum, copper, gold and silver commodities. These are then sold to be used to produce materials for manufacturing new products. To make the most of these existing resources, it is essential that e-recyclers commit to following best practices that go above and beyond required standards.

Working with a recycler who achieves a voluntary certification is the best way to verify that a company protects its staff, the environment and the public. Certification gives you the peace of mind that your old electronics are being handled in the most responsible manner by a facility that is refurbishing or recycling the devices.

When you retire your electronics, it’s wise to work with responsible recyclers and those that have received industry certification through such programs as R2/RIOS; they choose to operate at the highest standard and undergo regular independent audits.

Learn More

For further facts about responsible recycling and certification, visit www.isri.org/certifyme.