![]() ![]() Recyclers are certified by third-party audits. It also prohibits coerced or prison labor and the export of toxic materials. The e-Stewards Standard ensures high-quality occupational health and safety and environmental protection. BAN’s e-Stewards StandardĮ-Stewards certifies recyclers to the e-Stewards Standard, the industry’s most rigorous environmental and social standard. e-Stewards defines and promotes responsible electronics reuse and recycling worldwide.Į-Stewards certification differentiates truly responsible recyclers from those who merely claim to be going green. e-Stewards spurs market incentives encourage socially and environmentally-conscious behavior.īAN’s e-Stewards helps everyone – citizens and businesses alike – tackle the toxic footprint left behind by their old electronics. To solve toxic trade and occupational health and safety risks, BAN created the e-Stewards ® Program in 2009. Without proper safeguards, they can unknowingly transport these toxins home to their families and neighbors. ![]() Even at low levels, toxic substances can have adverse health effects. As soon as recyclers begin disassembling and processing our old gadgets, they’re potentially exposed to toxins. Occupational Health and SafetyĮven in recycling facilities in more developed countries, workers and their families are at risk. In short, it means poisoning people and the planet. In these impoverished communities, “recycling” often means burning circuit boards, soaking microchips in acid, and burning plastics to sort them by order. These companies cut costs by offloading dismantling and recycling to impoverished countries with lax labor laws, weak environmental regulations, and poor human rights track records.Īs a result of this massive, global flow of e-waste, former farming villages in countries like Vietnam, China, and Nigeria are now e-waste dumps. Toxic Tradeĭespite Basel Convention hazardous waste trade regulations, some questionable recycling companies are merely brokers that export e-waste to less developed countries. ![]() In accordance with the Basel Convention, BAN aims to ensure that e-waste is recycled responsibly, rather than dumped on less developed countries. ![]() The United Nations Basel Convention restricts the trade of e-waste because of these toxic components. Responsible recycling recirculates these metals back through the economy, thus reducing the demand for new materials.Į-waste is hazardous waste because it contains these toxic components. Mining, refining, and manufacturing the valuable components of e-waste consume a great deal of energy and take a toll on the environment. Some of the valuable materials that make up e-waste are: These gadgets contain various components and pieces, some valuable, some toxic, and some both. Household electronics like electronic kitchen gadgetsĬhildren’s toys that light up or play music E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream on the planet. Once discarded, everything with a cord or battery becomes electronic waste, or e-waste for short. The screen you’re reading this off of now will one day become electronic waste. ![]()
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