LifeSpan Achieves R2/RIOS and ISO 14001:2004 Certifications

Becomes the only company to hold four key certifications

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Sep 28, 2010, 08:00 ET

NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeSpan Technology Recycling announced today that it has achieved R2/RIOS and ISO 14001:2004 certifications at all of its North American processing facilities, making it one of only four companies nationwide to achieve both of these rigorous designations. LifeSpan was audited for compliance with these standards by SGS, an independent third-party certification body accredited by ANAB, the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board. In addition, LifeSpan is already certified for electronic data sanitization by the National Association For Information Destruction ("NAID") and is a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher. The company's achievement of all four designations represents a unique accomplishment in the IT Asset Disposal ("ITAD") industry.

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R2/RIOS is the most comprehensive certification program in the ITAD industry. It combines the Recycling Industry Operating Standard ("RIOS") certification developed by the Institute for Scrap Recycling Industries ("ISRI") with the Responsible Recycling ("R2") practices facilitated by the Environmental Protection Agency and key stakeholders. Companies achieving R2/RIOS certification are designated as "Certified Electronics Recyclers®". ISO 14000 is a global standard for environmental management systems. The aim of the standard is to reduce the environmental footprint of a business and to decrease the pollution and waste that a business produces.

"Our achievement of the R2/RIOS and ISO 14001:2004 certifications further underscore LifeSpan's commitment to state-of-the-art quality, environmental, and health & safety management systems," stated LifeSpan President Dag Adamson. "Many electronics recycling companies fail to uphold their claims of transparency and accountability. This creates risk for organizations that believe they are sending equipment to someone who will recycle it appropriately. Independent third-party certifications, such as R2/RIOS and ISO 14001:2004 provide customers with external assurance that their recycler's assertions are legitimate."

"We are very pleased that LifeSpan Technology Recycling has become the newest Certified Electronics Recycler®. The company's commitment to responsible electronics recycling is another testament to the growing numbers of recyclers doing the right thing by adopting this forward-looking program designed to protect worker health, safety, and the environment," stated Robin Wiener, president of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.

Information about RIOS can be found on ISRI's website:

https://www.isri.org/RIOS

The R2 standard can be found at the US EPA's web site:

http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/r2practices.htm

Certified Electronics Recycler® facilities are listed at:

http://www.certifiedelectronicsrecycler.com

About LifeSpan Technology Recycling:

Founded in 2002, LifeSpan Technology Recycling (http://www.lifespanrecycling.com) is a managed services company that provides electronic asset retirement services to corporations, municipalities, and not-for profit organizations nationwide. LifeSpan offers companies and organizations the flexibility of handling large quantities of equipment with a customized program. We also manage a full range of end-of-life information security issues for our clients. LifeSpan works exclusively with EPA-registered and regulation-compliant partners to maintain the highest standards of environmental protection and ethical business practices.

About SGS Group:

SGS North America (http://www.us.sgs.com/) is a member of the SGS Group, a global Control and Inspection company, represented in more than 130 countries by 210 affiliated companies. SGS is the world's leading certification body for management systems. The company conducts management system audits including RIOS, R2, ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and OHSAS 18001 for the recycling industry. SGS auditors are certified to RIOS and R2 and cross-trained to other QEH&S management systems.

About ISRI:

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (http://www.isri.org) is the non-profit trade association that is the "Voice of the Recycling Industry." Based in Washington, D.C., ISRI represents more than 1,600 private and public for-profit companies that process, broker, and industrially consume scrap commodities, including ferrous and nonferrous metals, paper, electronics, rubber, plastics, glass, and textiles. ISRI members employ more than 50,000 individuals and operate at more than 3,000 facilities worldwide, more than 80 percent of which are located in the United States.