E-waste is a major problem. The Basel Action Network reports that every year, an estimated 400 million units of obsolete electronics are scrapped. Four billion pounds of electronic waste was discarded in the United States in 2005. As much as 87.5% of this was incinerated; or dumped in landfills. Of the remaining 12.5% collected for “recycling”, industry sources claim that about 80% is exported to developing countries where it is processed in primitive conditions, severely endangering the workers, environment and communities.
The Basel Action Network and the Electronics TakeBack Coalition recently joined with 32 electronics recyclers in the United States and Canada, to announce the e-Stewards Program that identifies the most responsible recyclers in North America. The e-Steward Certification will be the continent’s first independently audited and accredited electronic waste recycler certification program. It will operate to limit the dumping of toxic e-waste in developing countries, local landfills and incinerators; the use of prison labor to process e-waste; and the unauthorized release of private data contained in discarded computers.
“Unfortunately today, most of those companies calling themselves electronics recyclers are scammers,” said Sarah Westervelt, e-Stewards project coordinator at the Basel Action Network (BAN). “They simply load up containers of old computers and ship them off to China or Africa. By choosing an e-Steward recycler, consumers and large businesses are assured that their old computers and TVs will be safely managed and not simply tossed into a local landfill, processed unsafely by prison laborers, or exported to developing countries.”
The e-Stewards Program already includes 32 companies in 92 locations that have been qualified by BAN. By early 2010, the program will feature an ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) certification system with third-party auditing. The funding to create this robust certification program was provided by 14 recycling companies designated as e-Steward Founders.
“Currently, the truly responsible recyclers in the US and Canada face unfair competition from the thousands of unethical, so-called ‘waste recyclers’ in North America that would more accurately be called ‘waste shippers,” said Neil Peters-Michaud of e-Steward Founder, Cascade Asset Management. “We strongly support a certified, audited program to separate the legitimate recyclers from the low-road operators. We urge consumers and businesses to only use qualified e-Stewards and thus make sure that their old electronics are being safely recycled here at home."
Resources
The e-Stewards Initiative: www.e-Stewards.org
Global e-waste dumping: www.ban.org
The Electronics TakeBack Coalition: www.computertakeback.com
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