UK Company Implicated in Toxic E-Waste Trail from London to West Africa

I know for a fact there are a few causes for concern here in Australia also.

Do you know what YOUR workplace does with old computers? Would your boss want to be responsible for confidential information and records being recovered from hard drives and publicised? It's happened!

In Australia, it is a FEDERAL OFFENCE under the 1989 Hazardous Waste Act to export any such material without a permit (to make sure the stuff is not going to a developing country where there are either ineffective or absent OHS and environmental protection standards).

Reposted in full from The Ecologist, 14 May 2011

'The Environmental Investigation Agency and BBC Panorama use GPS to prove British electronic waste is being exported to poor African nations where it threatens the environment and human health

One of the UK's leading waste and recycling companies has been linked to the growing underground trade in e-waste after campaigners uncovered evidence that broken television sets deposited at the firms facilities were exported to Africa in contravention of regulations designed to stem the flow of electronic waste to developing countries, the Ecologist can reveal. 
 
Merseyside-based Environment Waste Controls (EWC), whose clients are reported to include ASDA, Tesco, Barclays, the NHS and Network Rail, has admitted that electronic equipment from its amenity sites in South London ended up in West Africa after being exported by a third party company and says it has taken steps to prevent this happening in the future.

Campaigners from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) pinpoint the company in a report outlining Britain's role in the global e-waste trade, due to be published next week. The report details the findings of an 18 month investigation into how UK e-waste, much of it toxic, is ending up abroad where it is frequently processed in primitive conditions, posing a threat to the environment and human health.

A BBC Panorama programme to be broadcast on Monday night also investigates the trade and uncovers further evidence of UK electronics waste making its way to West Africa. 

As part of the probe, EIA staff visited civic amenity sites in Merton and Croydon where e-waste collection is run by EWC and were told that some of the electrical waste arriving at the facilities was routinely collected by a separate company who exported it to Nigeria and Ghana.

Investigators were told at the Merton amenity site that at least seven tonnes of TVs were being sold to the third party company each week, at a cost of between £1.50 and £2.00 per set. 

Under the Waste Electrical and Electronic (WEEE) Resources Regulations 2006, as long as the e-waste arriving at the sites was tested and found to be properly working its export would be permissible.

However, the EIA hid tracking devices inside television sets which had been disabled beyond repair and left them at the Merton and Croydon sites. Several weeks later, according to the group, GPS signals indicated that one TV had been shipped to Nigeria, ending up near a well known e-waste recycling centre, and one was found to have arrived in Ghana. 

The EIA says this evidence demonstrates that proper checks were not always being carried out and that the broken TV sets should, under WEEE regulations, have been be sent for recycling in the UK or another developed country, not shipped to West Africa. The campaigners believe this is not an isolated example and say that intelligence suggests that British e-waste is regularly diverted from local authority sites into the black market.

'When disposing of used electrical goods at civic amenity sites, the public has a right to expect that the equipment will be disposed of in accordance with the law,' the group states.

In a statement to the Ecologist, EWC said that it welcomed the EIA report and acknowledged that e-waste from its facilities had ended up in Africa in contravention of WEEE regulations: 'This is unacceptable and EWC has put in place measures to prevent a reoccurrence of this practice and to undertake a full investigation in cooperation with the regulator and relevant authorities. We have instructed all our sub contractors that no electronic equipment deposited at designated collection facilities operated by EWC should leave the UK until further notice.'

EWC, which runs 49 local authority waste sites as well as handling waste and recycling on behalf of the public and private sector, also told the Ecologist that it has not worked with the third party company involved in exporting the faulty TVs to Africa since October 2010.

E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, with more than one-million tonnes being generated annually according to some estimates. The UN has stated that global production of e-waste now totals at 50 million tonnes, of which only ten per cent is recycled.

E-waste can be hazardous to the environment and people - computer processors contain a mixture of chemicals and cathode ray tubes fitted in many older style TVs can contain lead. These substances are released when e-waste is stripped down in destination countries, often on vast unofficial waste dumps where workers lack protective clothing and health and safety regulations are poor or non-existant.

In recent years the UK authorities have stepped up efforts to combat the illegal trade in e-waste following growing concern about the scale of the activity.

The Environment Agency has a National Intelligence Team and an Environmental Crime Unit working to tackle the issue and has recently brought prosecutions against a number of individuals involved in e-waste trafficking. There are concerns however that funding for the Agency's e-waste work will be slashed as part of current cost-cutting measures.

Earlier this year the Environment Agency's head Paul Leinster said the body had found evidence of e-waste from government departments forming part of illegal exports.

As the Ecologist revealed in December 2010, the e-waste trade has attracted the interest of highly organised criminal gangs who see it as a lucrative and relatively risk-free activity. The EIA says its investigations have established how a complex network of brokers and middlemen are increasingly facilitating the movement of e-waste, making detection even harder for legitimate companies and the authorities.

'E-waste isn't a new problem and it isn't going away. It's time for the government and enforcement agencies to give this issue the resources and attention it warrants,' EIA's Fin Walravens said.'

Star Wars Imperial Walker Made From Recycled Computer Parts

Sourced from Planetsave, 16 February 2011

'The artist behind this great masterpiece is Sage Werbock better known as the Great Nippulini. Sage is a retired sideshow performer who now works as a professional body piercer. Sage is self-taught in the art of metalworking and has excelled at hand-forging steel and iron. He is also very proficient at stick, mig and tig welding. He tries to use recycled materials on all his sculptures, this is just his way of helping out the environment. He is selling his art piece on Esty with an asking price of $450.00. Which I’m sure some aspiring Jedi will grab soon!'

From the original article at Etsy

This is an Imperial Walker sculpture I made from recycled computer parts and other scrap metal materials. The Imperial Walker, also known as the AT-AT is an iconic figure from the original Star Wars trilogy movies. It is a static sculpture, meaning there are no moveable parts although the piece appears to be in mid-stride.

The main body is composed of power supply boxes from old computers, the head from floppy drive housings, legs and feet from various scrap metal. The entire piece has been welded together using the MIG welding process. Two coats of cold galvanizing primer are applied followed by a coat of varied grays and finished with two coats of protective gloss. The whole sculpture was randomly “attacked” with the welding arc to simulate battle scars.

This AT-AT stands over a foot high and over a foot long. He weighs about 15 pounds.

A quick note: this is NOT a toy! Not only is it heavy, but it is made of metal and has sharp edges and corners. Please do not let children play with it!'

Australia's National Television and Computer Product Stewardship Scheme

Sourced from Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population & Communities, March 2011

The Australian government is about to start consultation on a national product stewardship regulatory framework for e-waste - it's not the whole solution (which is to address ever-increasing demand), but it will go a long way to recovering materials like coltan, rare earth minerals.

This law would demand that companies, importers and manufacturers of TVs, computers and related technology finance/operate a national collection and recycling scheme under product-stewardship legislation, designed to encourage manufacturers to recover & recycle more resources contained in products sent to landfill.

Responsible Recycling of E-Waste in South Australia

Sourced from YouTube, January 2011

The Impossible Toaster

Sourced from TED, January 2011



'It takes an entire civilization to build a toaster. Designer Thomas Thwaites found out the hard way, by attempting to build one from scratch: mining ore for steel, deriving plastic from oil ... it's frankly amazing he got as far as he got. A parable of our interconnected society, for designers and consumers alike.'

The Story of Electronics

Brilliant, brilliant communications tactic - label people as if they were meeting higher expectations, as if that is what they already are:

'...we need to give these designers a challenge they can rise to, and do what they do best - innovate. Already, some of them are realising they are too smart to be dump designers...'

Sourced from The Story of Stuff, 9 November 2010



'...this November, Americans are expected to spend over $8.5 billion on consumer electronics, motivated by enticements to buy gizmos we don't really need or to replace gadgets that are still working with slightly newer versions.

The thing is, making all these devices takes an enormous environmental and public health toll: mining the metals trashes communities from Congo to Indonesia; assembling them uses huge amounts of water and energy and exposes workers to a host of toxic chemicals; and getting rid of them when we're on to the next, newer, better model creates mountains of e-waste.

The good news is that while the production, consumption and disposal of short-lived, toxics laden electronics are a really big problem, the solution is pretty simple: Make 'em Safe, Make 'em Last, and Take 'em Back.'

Criminal Probe into E-Waste Exports

Reposted in full from The Environment Agency, 15 October 2010

'The Environment Agency has today charged nine people as part of the biggest investigation into illegal electrical waste exports from the UK to West Africa.

All nine have been charged with offences under the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007 and European Waste Shipment Regulations 2006 and bailed to attend Havering Magistrates Court on 11 November.

The law is clear that broken electricals, including everyday items such as mobiles, smart phones, laptops and TVs, cannot be sent overseas for disposal. As well as precious metals such as gold, copper and aluminium, electrical waste can contain hazardous substances including mercury and lead that are harmful to people and the environment.

There is good evidence that illegal exports of electrical waste from the UK is ending up on waste sites in Africa, causing harm to those who come into contact with it.

The Environment Agency’s National Environmental Crime Team Manager, Andy Higham, said:

“Over the past two years painstaking intelligence work by Environment Agency officers has uncovered a web of individuals and companies that appear to be making considerable sums of money by exporting electrical waste overseas.

“Exporters of broken electricals put at risk the lives of those who work on waste sites in developing countries. These are often children who are paid a pittance to dismantle products containing hazardous waste. Illegal exporters also avoid the costs of recycling in the UK and undermine law-abiding business.

“It is always a crime to export broken electricals and hazardous waste from the UK to developing countries to be dumped. The last thing we want is our waste causing harm to people or the environment overseas.”

Officers from the Environment Agency’s National Crime Team began their investigations in mid-2008. They soon uncovered a network of individuals, waste companies and export businesses allegedly involved in the export of electrical waste.

In some instances, it is alleged that considerable sums of money changed hands in deals to collect and recycle electrical waste while treatment costs were avoided.'

Rare Earths Next Big Thing Or Will The Bubble Burst?

Ha! Watch the Chinese block access to this stuff and see recycling of e-waste suddenly become the most important issue...and not because of environmental or social concerns, but because these rare earths are needed to manufacture all kinds of essential 21st century technologies.

One wonders who has shares in non-Chinese rare earth companies...

Reposted in full from Planet Ark News, 29 October 2010

'China's increasing reluctance to supply the rest of the world with rare earths is whipping up a gold rush-like frenzy to find new producers of the elements needed to manufacture everything from high-tech weapons to mobile phones.

Producers and would-be producers are forging new supply pacts with consumers, and investors are scooping up shares in mining companies promising to replace the lost Chinese material.

But the ultra-quick global push to find alternative supplies also has investors asking if a classic commodities bubble is in the making.

The world's biggest money manager, BlackRock Inc, thinks it's possible.

"The ability to bring on production quickly in the higher-price environment means that the longer-term sustainability of those prices are questionable," Catherine Raw, a fund manager in BlackRock's natural-resources division, said on Wednesday.

"We are trying to invest on a three to five-year view, and longer, to identify where you can see long-term structural increases in commodities," Raw said.

"The jury on rare earths is still out."

PRICES UP

The price hikes in rare earths has been meteoric: Cerium, widely used in glass-making is up nearly tenfold since 2009. Prices of neodymium and terbium, needed to make magnets, are up more than 40 percent.

This has propelled shares of Lynas Corp and Molycorp Inc., the biggest non-Chinese rare earth firms, to more than double since July, when China announced it was reducing exports by 72 percent in the second half.

Stock in Arafura Resources Ltd, another promising producer, has more than tripled in just a few months.

Beijing says it simply needs to conserve its mine reserves of rare earths for future domestic consumption or it will run out.

Others say it is using rare earths as a trade axe.

China, which produces 97 percent of the world's rare earths, last month halted shipments to Japan after a long-simmering territorial dispute with Tokyo flared.

"Strategic concerns overall toward China are shaping or increasing the level of worry over these export quotas," said Malcolm Cook, East Asia programme director for the Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney.

The European Union and the United States on Tuesday said they were pressing for solutions to concerns China may be exploiting its stranglehold on rare earth metals.

Regardless of China's motives, its future commitment to exporting rare earth products remains questionable, leaving the rest of the world looking for 40,000-50,000 tonnes of material a year at today's consumption rate.

"The basic issue is that China needs to use the rare earths for domestic demand first and the left over amount can go to other countries," said Amy Lee, an analyst at Nomura in Hong Kong.

"They are concerned about the limited rare earths in China, so they need to control it."...

The Pentagon is due to report on its plans for securing rare earths to U.S. Congress this month....'

The Secret Life of Things: Eric Sun Undergoes Past Life Regression Therapy

Sourced from You Tube - animation by EcoInnovators

''Life Pscycle-ology' a humorous look at the life story of an unhappy mobile phone, who seeks therapy after his owner dumps him in favour of a new model. Free learning resources available at http://www.thesecretlifeofthings.com/

EU to Step Up Raw Materials 'Diplomacy'

'Materials diplomacy?' That sounds ominous...seems a resource constrained world is sneaking up on us faster than we think...

Reposted in full from EurActiv, 18 June 2010

'An EU expert group has identified 14 raw materials seen as "critical" for EU high-tech and eco-industries and suggested that the European Union's global diplomacy should be geared up to ensure that companies gain easier access to them in future.

"It is our aim to make sure that Europe's industry will be able to continue to play a leading role in new technologies and innovation and we have to ensure that we have the necessary elements to do so," said Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani, presenting the group's final report on 17 June.

The supply risks identified for the 14 critical raw materials highlighted in the report primarily relate to the fact that global production is concentrated in a handful of countries: China, Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil.

The low recycling rates of these materials and the difficulty of substituting them with others add to their "criticality", the report said.

To guarantee that industry can access these essential raw materials, "we need fair play on external markets," said Tajani. Encouraging supply from EU sources, improving resource efficiency and increasing efforts to recycle were also highlighted in the report as ways forward.

Of the 41 minerals and metals analysed, the expert group listed the following 14 raw materials as critical for the EU: antimony, beryllium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, niobium, PGMs (Platinum Group Metals), rare earths, tantalum and tungsten.

The group cites forecasts indicating that demand for some of them might more than triple by 2030 compared to 2006 levels.

These materials are an essential part of both high-tech products and every-day consumer items, such as mobile phones, thin-layer photovoltaics, lithium-ion batteries, fibre-optic cables and synthetic fuels.

They also suggested that the list be updated every five years.

Promoting exploration within the EU and beyond

The experts recommend a number of policy measures to improve access to primary resources and stress the need to increase recycling and promote research into substituting and improving the efficiency of materials.

Policy measures to improve access to primary resources should cover "fair treatment of extraction with other competing land uses", promote exploration and extraction within and outside the EU and "ensure that exploration by companies is regarded as a research activity," the report says.

It also advises the EU to promote good governance, capacity-building and transparency in relation to the extraction industry in developing countries.

The European Commission and the African Union Commission agreed on 8 June to develop bilateral cooperation in the field of raw materials and work together on issues such as governance, infrastructure, investment and geological knowledge and skills.

Regarding trade and investment, the group advises the EU to consider shaping a new EU-wide policy on foreign investment agreements to "better protect EU investments in raw materials abroad".

The bloc should also consider the merits of pursuing dispute settlement initiatives at World Trade Organisation (WTO) level "to include in such initiatives more raw materials important for EU industry".

The EU filed a joint complaint with the United States against China at the WTO in June last year, accusing Beijing of unfairly favouring its industries by restricting access to nine types of key raw materials (EurActiv 24/06/09).

China, which is responsible for 95% of global 'rare earth' production (one of the 14 materials listed as critical to EU industry), plans to ban exports of some of them as of 2015. Beijing's plans are a cause for concern among manufacturers of high-tech products ranging from computers to electric car batteries and wind turbines (EurActiv 09/06/10).'

'Conflict-Free' Electronics Bundled in Financial Reform Law

Reposted in full from Greenbuzz, 27 July 2010

'Nearly unmentioned in the discussions of the financial reform bill is a measure that will affect large swaths of the U.S. economy and that seeks to remove "conflict minerals" sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo from products sold in the United States.

The Washington Post reported late last week that the 2,300-page financial reform bill contained a provision focused on eliminating the use of four materials that are commonly sourced in war-torn Congo: Gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum.

The country has been embroiled in a horrific war since 1994 that has killed an estimated 5 million people, and led the nation to be dubbed "the rape capital of the world."

The materials included in the financial reform law are commonly found in electronics, but the provision's impacts will go much further: It applies to any publicly traded U.S. firm that uses gold or tin in its products.

"This is a law that is going to affect virtually the entire U.S. manufacturing sector," Rick Goss, vice president of environment at the Information Technology Industry Council, told the Post's Mary Beth Sheridan.

The article continues:

The issue got tied to the financial reform bill largely because of [Republican Senator Sam] Brownback, who had previously introduced legislation on "conflict minerals." He sought to attach an amendment to the bill, and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn), chairman of the banking committee, supported it, congressional staff said. In the end, Brownback voted against the overall bill, but his amendment survived.

The new law requires American companies to submit an annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing whether their products contain gold, tin, tungsten or tantalum from Congo or adjacent countries. If so, they have to describe what measures they are taking to trace the minerals' origin.

The law does not impose any penalty on companies who report taking no action. But the disclosures must be made publicly on firms' Web sites.

"The consequence is a market-driven one. Consumers can make their choices. Do they want their electronic products to be funding gang rape in central Africa? I don't think most Americans would want that," said Rory Anderson of the World Vision humanitarian group, which has been pushing for the legislation.

The issue of responsible sourcing of materials has been on tech companies' radars for some time.

In 2009, the Center for American Progress launched a "No Blood for Gadgets" campaign focused on conflict materials, and electronics companies have long focused on the greening of their supply chains.

Hewlett-Packard, for instance, showcased its efforts on scouring its supply chain of conflict materials at the 2009 BSR conference, and in 2008, the company released green supply chain guidelines for suppliers and top-level global enterprises alike to work toward transparency in supply chains. Later that year, HP also named its largest suppliers as part of its CSR report, an unprecedented move in the secretive IT industry.

Conflict materials are not just a problem for the electronics sector; jewelry retailers have repeatedly worked on cleaning up the supplies of sometimes "dirty gold" in the marketplace.'

Eric Sun's Existential Lament

Reposted in full from The Age, 20 July 2010

'Eric Sun is not a happy little mobile phone. In fact, he's up to his aerial in the gloom of an existential crisis. After little more than 12 months, his owner has abandoned him for a sleek, sexy new model.

Perched uneasily on the edge of the couch in his psychologist's office, he pauses, gathers his thoughts, bottom lip quivering. ''I just feel really worthless,'' he stutters eventually. ''My career has only lasted for one year.

''I need a new life, doc, a new direction! There has to be more to life than being stuck in a drawer.''

Eric Sun is the chief protagonist of Life Psycle-ology, a short animated film to be launched on Thursday as part of the State of Design Festival broaching issues surrounding eco-design and the life cycle of consumer products. The difference being that the film, which is the first in the series The Secret Life of Things, does so with a smile.

''Eco-design has a PR problem and it's not being communicated very well,'' says Leyla Acaroglu, who developed and directed the film through her eco-design consultancy Eco Innovators. ''We're trying to use humour to engage people on another level.''

''A lot of the information that is around on sustainability and environmental stuff can be quite depressing and can be quite disempowering,'' continues the 27-year-old. ''Explaining all the facts and presenting all the doom and gloom side of things, on the one hand, is important, because we all need to get to a point of understanding about the issues, but we also wanted to empower people about what they can do.''

Originally conceived as an educational resource for design students, the film traces Eric Sun's emotional journey through past-life regression therapy. He learns of his source materials: gold from South Africa, palladium from Brazil, platinum from Russia, silver from Mexico and nickel from Australia. He recalls the joy of regular use and the dismay of failing memory and shortened battery life, only to learn of the possibilities of disassembly, resource recovery and reuse in other electronic products such as USB flash drives and digital cameras.

The mobile phone - something of a poster child for the new generation of high-turnover, comparatively disposable consumer technology - seemed the perfect hook through which to launch the film series. Indeed, according to a recent global consumer survey by Finnish telecommunications company Nokia, only 3 per cent of mobile users internationally recycle their mobile phones. Other studies have the figure even lower.

''The whole thing is based around the idea of product life cycles and trying to come up with a clever way to sort of portray that,'' says animator Nick Kallincos, who originally came up with the Eric Sun character. ''The mobile phone just felt right.''

''This is a thing that we all use all the time and are largely unaware of all the materials and all the hidden things beneath it.''

Acaroglu agrees. ''Here were all these quite complex issues, but when Nick came back with this idea of this sad little mobile phone going to his doctor's office having this existentialist crisis and past-life regression therapy, you just knew instantly that it was perfect,'' she says.

The Secret Life of Things launches at 6pm on Thursday at the EPA Offices, Carlton. Phone: 8669 2046.

Life Psychle-ology screens at 2pm and 6.30pm daily at the Federation Square Big Screen until July 25.'

Transformer Man!

Excerpt from Planet Ark, 19 July 2010

'A boy takes photos in front of a ten-metre-high (32 feet) Transformer-style statue constructed from recycled material, at the Green Dream Park near the Olympic Stadium in Beijing July 16, 2010.

The theme park features exhibits constructed out of recycled materials, and promotes environmental protection through sustainable lifestyles...'

E-Waste Roundup: The Trouble with Exports

Excerpt from Green Biz, 30 March 2010

'Take your eye off the e-waste issue for even a minute, much less a week, and you're liable to miss some interesting developments. In the last few days, there have been a number of stories on the issue of end-of-life management for electronics - some highlighting progress on the challenge, others highlighting just how big a challenge it will remain for years to come.

Beginning with the bad news, a series of reports came out this month focused on how developing nations will be affected by e-waste. Following on the news that developing nations will be buried under an e-waste 'surge', a report published in Environmental Science & Technology found instead that those developing nations will soon be generating more domestic e-waste than Western countries can ship their way.

The report, by Jinglei Yu, Eric Williams, Meiting Ju and Yan Yang, suggests that bans on e-waste exports will not solve the problem, although it will likely slow its pace. Although North America and Europe are responsible for the vast majority of e-waste that is dangerously dismantled in China, Thailand, Vietnam, as those countries' economies grow and citizens buy gadgets of their own, the problem of handling toxic waste will come from within rather than without.

Rather than banning e-waste exports, or rather than simply banning exports, the report authors suggest that localized, backyard recyclers should be banned in countries that currently import electronics, with governments taking over a centralized recycling role.

Increased Domestic Recycling

Alongside the research on recycling in developing countries, a new report from Converge finds that the vast majority of medium to large enterprises in the U.S. are making a plan to address end-of-life issues for their electronics.

Although data security is far and away the biggest driver of corporate e-cycling initiatives, with 75 percent of respondents ranking that as the top reasons for managing e-waste, 61 percent said that corporate green initiatives are the motivating factor, while 53 percent said avoiding potential risk from improper e-waste disposal was the main reason for recycling.

And while organizations of all sizes are ever more aware of the risks posed by discarded computers and monitors, the mountains of cell phone waste are still often overlooked at the corporate as well as individual levels.

eRecyclingCorps, a new Dallas, Texas-based company, launched last week in order to tackle the roughly 130 million cell phones that are discarded in the U.S. every year.

eRecyclingCorps opened shop at the CTIA trade show last week in Las Vegas, starting with a partnership with Sprint to collect old phones at Sprint retail stores and offer rebates for customers who trade in old phones. eRecyclingCorps will collect and separate reusable phones from ones that should be dismantled and recycled, and the company's website says it will meet or exceed compliance with all policies on e-waste, including:

• due diligence on downstream recyclers and processors;
• clearing/destroying personal data;
• sending materials only to facilities licensed to receive them;
• only exporting to countries where it is legal...'

Major Corporations Step Up For Certified Green Electronics Recycling

Excerpt from Basel Action Network media release, 15 April 2010

'SEATTLE - The Basel Action Network (BAN), the group that first documented the dumping of toxic electronic waste in China and Africa, announced today the official launch of the world’s first global e-waste recycler certification and the first such program backed by environmental organizations and major corporations alike.

The accredited, third-party audited certification program has not only been endorsed by Greenpeace USA, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Electronics TakeBack Coalition and 68 other environmental organizations, it has also drawn the support of major corporate “e-Stewards Enterprises” including: ...

Bank of America...
Indep. Distributors of Electronics Assoc.
Natural Resources Defense Council...
Samsung...

“Samsung is honored to be the first electronics manufacturer recognized with the e-Stewards standard for rigorous recycling and e-waste materials management,” said Mr. J. C. Ser, Senior Vice President for Samsung Electronics America.

“This is a major validation of our efforts as we have responsibly recycled more than 20 million pounds of e-waste since the beginning of our Samsung Recycling Direct program in 2008 and plan to continue strengthening our commitment and leadership in this industry.”

At the heart of the program is the e-Stewards Standard, created by BAN with the advice of industry leaders and health and environmental specialists. It calls for recyclers to eliminate exports of hazardous e-wastes to developing countries; to halt the dumping of such wastes in municipal landfills or incinerators; and to cease the use of captive prison populations to manage toxic e-wastes.

It also calls for strict protection of customer’s private data and occupational health safeguards to ensure that workers in recycling plants are not exposed to toxic dusts and fumes...

Currently there are about 50 e-Stewards Recyclers, each of which has passed a rigorous internal review by BAN as a preliminary step to full certification. All are regarded as responsible recyclers, and each has committed to becoming fully certified by September 2011. Today’s announcement names the first companies that have become fully certified. They have passed additional, independent audits conducted by three ANAB accredited certifying Bodies: AQA International LLC, Orion Registrar Inc., and SAI Global...

“We are making history here,” said Mick Schum, President of WeRecycle!

“Today, e-Stewards Recyclers and their customers are taking a significant step forward in achieving the most responsible level of management for obsolete electronic equipment. Now, we can provide a competitive domestic alternative to the irresponsible exportation and dumping that runs rampant throughout the industry. Finally, consumers can really know they are doing the right thing when they recycle their old electronics and as Certified e-Stewards Recyclers, we can prove it.”

e-Stewards Website: www.e-stewards.org

UNEP Report Warns of E-Waste Mountains

Reposted in full from Warmer Bulletin e-newsletter, 13 April 2010

Developing countries are being urged to act quickly to avoid being overwhelmed with hazardous e-waste mountains.

A study released by the UN Environment Programme reports that most e-waste in China is improperly handled, with backyard incinerators used to recycle and recover valuable metals like gold.

Recycling from E-Waste to Resources - UNEP Report

2010 International E-waste Design Competition - $US 20,000 Prizemoney

From University of Illinois

'Online registration at: www.ewaste.edu/registration

Electronic Waste, or “E-Waste,” generated by computers, TVs, cameras, printers, and cell phones, is a growing global issue. Through the International E-Waste Design Competition, participants will explore solutions to this problem at the local level and beyond.

The spirit of this competition is to prompt the industrialized world to dialogue about product designs for environmentally responsible green computing and entertainment.

The goals of this competition are to learn about ways to re-use E-Waste for new and productive means, explore your own ideas for how to address E-Waste problems and contribute to the body of knowledge that advances the practice of environmentally responsible product design for current and future computing technology products.

We invite you to create a broad range of design concepts and innovations for technology products that demonstrate fresh approaches and responsible solutions for green computing technologies. Engineering, design, sustainability, or business knowledge will be helpful but not required for success in this competition.'

India Computer Waste To Grow 500 PCT By 2020: Report

Excerpt from Planet Ark, 23 February 2010

'Waste from discarded electronics will rise dramatically in the developing world within a decade, with computer waste in India alone to grow by 500 percent from 2007 levels by 2020, a U.N. study released on Monday said.

E-waste - a term describing electronics including phones, printers, televisions, refrigerators and other appliances - grows globally by 40 million metric tones a year. Toxins are emitted when it is improperly burned by scavengers looking for valuable components, such as copper and gold.

A report released in Bali on Monday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) predicted that by 2020, e-waste from computers would grow by up to 400 percent from 2007 levels in China and South Africa.

"This report gives new urgency to establishing ambitious, formal and regulated processes for collecting and managing e-waste via the setting up of large, efficient facilities in China," said Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP.

"China is not alone in facing a serious challenge. India, Brazil, Mexico and others may also face rising environmental damage and health problems if e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal sector," he said in the report.

The report, co-authored by EMPA of Switzerland, specialty materials group Umicore and the United Nations University, said that the United States is the biggest producer of e-waste, creating around 3 million metric tones a year.

Close behind is China, which produces around 2.3 million metric tones domestically and is where a lot of the developed world's e-waste is sent, EMPA said.

EMPA is the research institute for material science and technology of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology...

Jim Puckett from the U.S.-based NGO Basel Action Network, which tracks illegal trafficking in e-waste, said Indonesian authorities recently discovered a shipment of nine 40-foot shipping containers of e-waste that had been sent from the U.S. state of Massachusetts.

"They were full of hand-stacked cathode ray tubes, computer monitors, basically. It was old junk that people wanted to get rid of because everyone wants flat-screens now," he said...'

UN Warns India & China Over Growing Problem of E-waste

Excerpt from The Ecologist, 22 February 2010

'African and Asian countries need proper electronic waste recycling systems to prevent the surge in consumer demand creating toxic e-waste mountains

Less-industrialised countries like India, Uganda and Senegal face a mounting hazardous e-waste problem unless proper recycling measures are enforced, says the UN.

Sales of consumer electronics, particularly mobile phones and computers, have soared in the past two decades. In 2007, one billion mobile phones were sold, up from a figure of 896 million in 2006.

A report on e-waste from the UN Environment Programme says China and India are expected to see sharp rises in electronics sales over the next decade, contributing to an e-waste mountain growing by 40 million tons a year.E-waste dumpingThe UNEP says e-waste cannot be left 'to the vagaries of the informal sector'. It says large-scale collection and recycling facilities need to be established in China, India, Brazil and Africa where levels of e-waste are rising...

The UNEP report says countries like Senegal and Uganda can expect e-waste flows from PCs alone to increase 4 to 8-fold by 2020.

At present the problem is most acute in India and China, which together produce more than 1.5 million tonnes of e-waste from TVs and 600,000 tonnes from refrigerators every year.

In China, the report predicts that by 2020 levels of e-waste from old computers will have increased by 200 to 400 per cent from 2007 levels, and by 500 per cent in India.

By that same year in China, e-waste from discarded mobile phones will be about seven times higher than 2007 levels and, in India, 18 times higher. But the UNEP says recycling can also recover valuable natural resources.

'In addition to curbing health problems, boosting developing country e-waste recycling rates can have the potential to generate decent employment and recover a wide range of valuable metals including silver, gold, palladium, copper and indium,' said UN Under-Secretary-General Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP. 'By acting now and planning forward, many countries can turn an e-challenge into an e-opportunity,' he added.

Ghana's Slums Recycle Western Waste

Reposted in full from The Ecologist, 28 January 2010

'The slums of Accra in Ghana are being used as a dumping ground for Western consumer waste, including toxic electrical components.

The sound of pounding metal peals like funereal bells across the landscape. An acrid black smoke drifts above the earth, dyed bright yellow and cyan by ink spewed from fractured printer cartridges.

We step across a wasteland of rusting car parts, jaundiced computer shells and the entrails of refrigerators bought decades ago in a country other than Ghana.

This is Sodom and Gomorrah, the local name for the Agbogbloshie district of Accra in Ghana.

Named after the fated cities of the Bible, synonymous with impenitent sin, and destroyed by God with brimstone and fire.

It is a huge area of slums, workshops and market stalls, created to provide accommodation for refugees that fled violence in northern Ghana during the 1980s. It has sprawled with urban migration and today is a stronghold of anti-government sentiment. Law and order is enforced by the military, and Accra’s mayor has vowed to ‘decongest’ it, a political euphemism for eviction and demolition.

This is the final resting place for many of the white goods and electrical appliances that we buy in the developed world. It is a shrine to built-in obsolescence and a time capsule to twentieth century consumerism. We walk down paths lined with forgotten models of familiar brands, Candy fridges, Panasonic televisions and Sony stereos.West dumping ground

Old products, superseded or considered dead in the developed world, are bought by Accra’s merchants for re-use. Most can be brought back to life and those that are beyond repair are broken down for parts by workers using hammers and chisels.

Aluminium girders are smelted over three-stone fires, re-moulded into cooking pots and gates, sheets of steel are cut and welded into tiny stoves and copper wiring is pulled by hand from refrigerator compressors, the leftover shells used for storage.

Ghana does not have the technology to recycle these products safely. Car radiators ooze toxic gunge and CFC gases leak unnoticed into the air. The health of the community suffers and the workers’ hands we shake bear witness to a history of lacerations and burns.

The local environment is also affected. The nearby Korle Lagoon is the dustbin for these workshops and the government has given up dredging it while the community remains in place. Nothing lives in its fetid waters.

Sodom and Gomorrah is the site of a double hypocrisy, of the Ghanaian government turning its back on the slums of their own creation, and of harmful refuse expediently discarded and forgotten by the developed world, trickling its way down to the world’s forsaken.'