Electronics Recyclers Take the Pledge
No Exporting, No Dumping, No Prison Labor
by Dave Bell
A coalition of environmental groups announced that 15 electronics recycling companies in the United States and Canada have pledged to uphold a strict set of environmental and social standards for dismantling and recycling electronic waste. "These are some of the real leaders in the industry," Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) Executive Director Ted Smith told green-techZONE. "We hope others will follow suit."
Basel Action Network (BAN) and SVTC - members of the Computer TakeBack Campaign timed the announcement to commemorate the one-year anniversary of their release of Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia. The report documented how most of the electronic waste collected in North America for recycling was being sent to developing countries and processed in ways that imperil human health and the environment.
The 15 recycling firms, representing 21 facilities in North America, agreed to: prevent the export of electronic waste to developing countries, keep hazardous e-waste out of landfills and incinerators, use free-market rather than prison labor, promote design-for-environment programs, and support initiatives to reduce the use of toxics. They also promised to provide visible tracking of hazardous e-waste throughout the recycling chain, certify adherence to an environmental management system, and ensure that intermediaries are operating in the cleanest, most efficient, and environmentally responsible manner.
"We are frustrated by the failure of the federal government and electronics manufacturers to move quickly enough to create a truly environmentally sound recycling program to deal with the current e-waste crisis," said Bobby Farris, Environmental Service Manager of Resource Concepts, Inc. one of the pledging companies. "So, together with some key environmental organizations we voluntarily agreed to meet a stringent standard of operation that sets a high bar for responsible recycling."
"Unfair Competition"
Along with the environmental aspects of e-waste, the pledge specifically targets the increased use of prison labor in this country for electronics recycling. "By utilizing a no-wage, or a low-wage labor force, such operations unfairly compete with free-market recycling, hindering its development," according to SVTC. "The use of prison labor allows an externalization of real end-of-life costs that rightfully should be born by electronics producers and passed on to consumers."
Although the 15 companies that signed the pledge account for less than 20% of the industry's volume, Smith is optimistic about the potential impact of the pledge. "We know there are other recyclers who will want to sign on," he told green-techZONE. "Another goal of the pledge is to get some of the major institutional consumers of electronics products to utilize the high-end recyclers" that support these principles. In addition to discouraging "cheap and dirty disposal options," the Campaign advocates legislation to enforce extended producer responsibility.
"Manufacturers must design products that can be easily recycled and upgraded, and which aren't toxic to workers or the environment," said Smith. "As long as electronic waste continues to be dumped with few costs or liabilities, producers have little incentive to alter the design of electronic products to remove toxic components and allow them to be recycled more efficiently."
The electronic recycler's pledge is designed to:
Computer TakeBack Campaign- Electronics Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship
We, the undersigned recycling company, agree to uphold the following as a pledge of true stewardship of electronic wastes:
Recycling companies committed to the pledge as of February 25, 2003
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