Product Recycling & COD Vial Disposal Programs

YSI is an advocate of environmental stewardship and we believe that this concept extends to the proper disposal of used electronic equipment. We take a holistic view of recycling and waste minimization. We apply this philosophy to our products from the outset, beginning in the design stage by creating compact, efficient products that use high-recycling-value materials wherever possible.

While the ultimate goal is a reduction in materials used, we feel strongly that responsible actions also include reuse and recycling those materials required in the course of doing business.

YSI’s commitment to responsible environmental citizenship includes ensuring that our instrumentation is properly disposed of at the end of its useful life. Our recycling program makes it easy for you to help protect the environment.

• For customers in the United States, YSI offers a free recycling program of environmental water quality instruments, probes and cables. Any YSI product can be sent back for recycling at any time with or without the purchase of a new system.
• YSI’s free recycling program will also take back any similar water quality instrumentation — regardless of manufacturer or model — with the purchase of a new YSI system.
• YSI also participates in recycling programs in Europe as part of our global commitment.
• YSI will NOT receive liquids, batteries, cadmium column waste or reagents. Please contact your local regulatory agency on proper disposal of these items.

Where Does it Go?

YSI’s recycling program ensures that old equipment is processed in an environmentally friendly way, reducing the amount of materials going to landfills.

Printed Circuit Boards are sent to a facility that processes and reclaims as much material for recycling as possible. Circuit boards are partially disassembled and run through a granulator/magnetic alloy separator to reclaim the raw materials that are used to produce the boards. The materials include metals such as silver, lead, copper, and gold. Recycling printed circuit boards, rather than disposing of them, also helps to meet the goals of the U.S. Pollution Prevention Act (42 USC 13101-13109) that states that recycling spent materials is preferable to treatment or disposal.

Plastics are shredded, not incinerated or sent to landfills. Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it in an incinerator If sent to a landfill, plastic takes up to 500 years or more to decompose.

Cables are sent to a recycling facility where they are cut and stripped of their covering and the metal reclaimed. These facilities are capable, through different methods, of separating the plastics (PVC or polyethylene) used in insulated cables and also reclaiming the copper or aluminum contained in the cables.

Probes are shredded at our main material recovery facility and sent out with low grade polymers for recycling.