News

Being eco-friendly isn’t just about talking the talk, it’s about walking the walk. At AVID, we as employee-owners are accountable for our company’s values, the ownership of our products and our commitment to sustainability.More than 50 million tons of e-waste is generated annually worldwide and by 2050, global e-waste will have grown to 120 million tons. There is an urgent need to establish solutions to responsibly reuse and recycle e-waste, and in the process, help maximize the safe return of valuable materials back into the circular economy. Read on to learn about our recycling partnership, what happens to audio devices when they reach recycling facilities and why certification is so important when it comes to e-waste recycling.

Taking action

As part of our commitment to keeping the earth beautiful, AVID has partnered with TERRA, The Electronics Reuse and Recycling Alliance, and Done With IT to establish a recycling program for any make of headphones, headsets or earbuds. This program is serviced by the largest network of Certified Recyclers in North America and is the most efficient and sustainable program of its kind. It may come as a surprise, but inside each headphone, headset and earbud model there are a series of parts that are recyclable or reusable.Now let’s dive into how it all happens – how are headphones recycled? Steven Napoli, President & CEO of TERRA, breaks it down for us.

“What typically happens with an item like an AVID headset is it would first go through a material shredder,” Napoli begins, “The material shredder has a sorter on it that enables each element to be separated by type. For example, the plastics would go into a plastics-only bin, the foam ear padding would go into a separate bin, all of the metal based on the type of metal would also be separated into different bins, or what they call in the industry- gaylords.”“After those items are sorted,” continues Napoli, “There are secondary businesses, such as metal smelting facilities that further utilize the material. For instance, they may take the copper directly from where they collect it and turn it into new copper. Others will downstream that material to another vendor, which leads us to why we only partner with e-stewards and R2 Certified service providers in our network.”

 

Certification matters

What exactly differentiates e-stewards and R2 Certified recyclers from other electronics recyclers? The simple explanation is that any of the downstream partners e-Stewards and R2 certified recyclers utilize in their respectable networks must be verified and audited on a monthly basis. This is the most reliable way to ensure the materials are reused and recycled in a sustainable manner, while also ensuring that the people handling it adhere to the highest standards.In a process with so many moving parts, as well as the huge amount of e-waste being recycled, certifications ensure safety, reliability and transparency.

TERRA is dedicated to eliminating hazardous e-waste from contaminating the environment by offering simple solutions to divert used electronics to the care of Certified Recyclers. That is because ONLY e-Stewards & R2 Certified service providers can be trusted to provide sustainable and verifiable data destruction, equipment remarketing and end-of-life electronics recycling services. Our members adhere to rigorous standards, provide transparency, and receive ongoing compliance audits to verify and maximize the reuse and recycling of natural resources.

We all have a responsibility to our planet and a big part of taking care of the earth is recycling our e-waste in a mindful way. If you’d like to become a part of our free Audio Device Recycling program, you may click here to get started or learn more about how it works.We stand firm in our dedication to reducing environmental impact and creating a community of care. Through our partnership with TERRA, we may ensure our company, our customers and our partners have a sustainable and reliable solution for recycling audio devices. Together we are making a difference.