By Thomas Miner

June 3, 2010 – Last week Sprint Nextel was recognized at the International Electronics Recycling Conference for their commitment to electronics recycling; specifically for the launch of their Sprint Buyback Program and for setting the industry benchmark of recovering or recycling 90% of the handsets they manufacture by 2017.

The IERCE is a networking and learning platform for electronics manufacturers, resellers, recyclers and other stakeholders in the electronic waste management and reverse logistics industry. The second annual meeting last week drew executives from more than 600 companies and 15 coutries.

Ismail Oyekan, program director of the International Electronics Recycling Conference & Expo, commented “We chose Sprint for this award because of their leadership amongst wireless carriers in the recycling of mobile handsets. Sprint was the first in the wireless industry to set an ambitious, long-term collection goal -- to recover for reuse or recycling 90 percent of the handsets they sell annually by 2017. Their collection rate for 2009 was 42 percent, up from 34 percent the year before. In total, Sprint's take back programs have kept more than 20 million cell phones out of landfills since 2001."

The wireless company has made a significant shift toward sustainability throughout their operations, from resource procurement to end of life disposal. Besides their buyback program mentioned above, Sprint has also launched a sustainable phone accessories online-store, stated that they will only source from suppliers who meet their internal sustainability criteria and launched the “Reclaim,” a phone made from 40% bioplastics.

The company ranked highest among all U.S. telecom companies and #15 overall on Newsweek's 2009 Green Rankings, with this series of new environmental initiatives and green innovations. Sprint also scored highest among U.S.-based national wireless companies on the Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) 2009 Global 500 Report on carbon disclosure.