Environmental and social justice advocates urge you to make use of these recyclers for all of your e-waste disposal/recycling/asset management. Beware other recyclers claiming to be “green” and responsible.

On November 10th 2008, a day after being featured on the CBS program 60 Minutes, the Basel Action Network announced a transformation of the existing program to a fully accredited, 3rd-party audited certification program: the e-Stewards Certification.

By 2010, accredited certifying bodies will independently assure conformity to revised e-Stewards Standard, thus providing the highest level of assurance that they meet the world’s most responsible environmental and social justice criteria for electronics recyclers.

These criteria include no toxic e-waste dumped in landfills or incinerators, exported to developing countries, or sent to prison labor operations and no release of private data.

The e-Stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment® is the result of long collaboration between the environmental community and leaders in the recycling, auditing, occupational health, data security, and manufacturing industries as well as from the accredited third party certification industry. It is the standard that will be applied in the e-Stewards third party audited, accredited certification for electronics recyclers.

Find your local e-Stewards:

http://www.e-stewards.org/local_estewards.html

Given the lack of laws, regulations and enforcement for the electronic waste stream, the environmental community has defined a set of standards for globally responsible recycling and refurbishment of electronics based on the United Nations treaty called the Basel Convention (see www.basel.int) and proper management of reusable and toxic materials.

BAN and the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC) seek to identify US and Canadian recyclers, processors, and asset recovery companies who are willing to operate as if the US and Canada had ratified both the Basel Convention and the Amendment to the Convention, among other things.

How to Become an e-Steward Recycler:
http://www.e-stewards.org/esteward_recycler.html