A new program to certify that electronics are safely recycled launched today with the backing of environmental groups and several companies including Samsung.
The Basel Action Network, a Seattle-based non-profit group that documented how U.S. companies were dumping toxic wastes in Africa and China, said its program will ensure the proper handling and disposal of electronics. These products often contain lead and mercury that pose environmental and health risks.
BAN's program, which requires participants to use certified recyclers, will compete with a less stringent one begun in January by the Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with U.S. manufacturers.
The EPA's R2 or Responsible Recycling, program also requires that recyclers be certified, but it allows them, under certain conditions, to export old electronics. BAN's program bars the export of toxic waste to developing countries.
"It's full of loopholes," Jim Puckett, BAN's executive director, said of the R2 program in a New York Times story.
BAN has been running a program in which about 50 recyclers promise to follow its disposal rules. Beginning today, however, recyclers will have to follow standards set by the International Organization for Standardization and their compliance will be independently audited.
Currently, BAN says only three recyclers (Newport Computer Services, Inc, Redemtech, WeRecycle) at six U.S. locations are fully certified but an additional 12 companies have applied for approval.
A bevy of environmental groups is backing its e-Stewards program, including Greenpeace USA, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Electronics TakeBack Coalition.
Samsung, one of the world's largest technology companies, has agreed to recycle its electronics via the new BAN program. Also signing on are major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Capital One Financial.Link
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