Why Responsible Recycling is Good Business

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Why Responsible Recycling is Good Business
Workshop on E-waste Recycling and Refurbishing
Environmentally Sound Management
Practices Perspectives on key drivers for
implementing ESM

• Barbara Kyle
• Electronics TakeBack Coalition

Guadalajara, MexicoFebruary 1516
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Topics

• E-waste recycling challenges
• What happens when e-waste isnt managed
  responsibly
• Why ESM is good business for recyclers
• Recycler certification

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About the Electronics TakeBack Coalition

• Who We Are National coalition of environmental
  and consumer organizations working on electronic
  waste issues
• What We Do We promote green design and
  responsible recycling in the electronics industry
• Promote state and federal legislation
• Public pressure on the industry to create and
  improve TakeBack and recycling programs
• Promote green purchasing guidelines and efforts
  with institutional buyers
• Expose problems with recyclers, such as exporting
  e-waste
• Promote responsible recyclers

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Electronic Waste is Toxic Waste

• Toxics in electronics
• Lead
• Mercury
• Brominated Flame Retardants
• Cadmium
• PVC
• Arsenic

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Toxics In, Toxics Out

• Toxics in e-waste can harm workers communities
• Toxics make it harder to recycle e-waste (more
  expensive to do it safely)
• Many recyclers choose to export e-waste to
  developing countries instead of paying to manage
  them safely
• Processing should occur only where there is
  adequate infrastructure to manage the toxics.

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Where does our e-waste go?
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50 to 100 containers of e-waste arrive in Hong
Kong daily
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Guiyu, China
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Object of the presentation
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Lagos, Nigeria
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(No Transcript)
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Accra, Ghana
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Accra, Ghana
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Key Question Who pays?

• There is always a cost for handling toxic e-waste
• Who will pay for it?
• Option 1 We externalize the costs onto the
  workers and communities in developing countries
  with cheap labor and weak laws

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The word is out on e-waste dumping

• Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste
• 60 Minutes Follows America's Toxic Electronic
  Waste As It Is Illegally Shipped To Become
  China's Dirty Secret

Ghana Digital Dumping Ground
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Key Question Who Pays?

• Option 2Customers who BUY and USE the products
  pay for responsible recycling
• Cost is included in the price of the product
  Cost Internalization (not an added fee)

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Will the customer pay for responsible recycling?

• Producer Responsibility- The manufacturer adds
  the cost of recycling into the price, and then
  takes back its products when customers are done
  with them.- The manufacturer recycles
  RESPONSIBLY
• In the U.S., and Canada, we are passing
  state/provincial laws requiring producer
  responsibility for e-waste (mostly for consumer
  products)

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Manufacturers want responsible recycling
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• Samsung We've partnered directly with respected
  take-back and recycling companies that do not
  incinerate, send to solid waste landfill, or
  export toxic waste (defined in a manner
  consistent with the commonly accepted definition
  of hazardous electronic waste) to developing
  countries. Link
• SONY Sony will continue to conduct electronics
  recycling programs transparently and in accord
  with rigorous environmental and worker safety
  standards. Additionally, we will adhere to
  measures to prevent the export of hazardous
  e-waste to developing countries and support the
  development of federal legislation to ban the
  illegal export of hazardous electronic waste to
  developing nations. Link
• Apple Nothing is shipped overseas for recycling
  or disposal. Our recyclers must comply with all
  applicable health and safety laws, and Apple does
  not allow the use of prison labor at any stage of
  the recycling process. Nor do we allow the
  disposal of hazardous electronic waste in
  solid-waste landfills or incinerators. Link

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Corporate customers want responsible recycling

• In the U.S., corporations are increasingly
  concerned about what happens to their old
  electronics
• Legal liability and privacy concerns about data
  on hard drives
• Concerns about their old products causing harm in
  communities around the globe
• Corporations require ESM language in contracts
  with recyclers

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Voluntary Standards and ESM

• Why voluntary recycling standards and
  certification?
• Standards cover areas ignored by the laws such
  as worker protections, export (in USA)
• Certification to high standards makes it easy for
  customers to know a recycler is following ESM
  practices
• Certification shows compliance with laws
  (especially where enforcement is not strong)
• Certification is a visible label (not just legal
  compliance)

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Certifications Show Green Matters

• Certified Fair Trade in 2007 topped 2.5 billion
  in sales, providing wide benefits to more than 1
  million farm families growing at 40 per year.
• FSC-certified forests now top 300 million acres
  worldwide, more than 10 of the worlds working
  forests, growing at 25 per year
• MSC-certified fisheries now cover 70 of
  ocean-caught salmon (not farmed!) and 26 of
  whitefish, more requests for fishery
  certification than they can handle driven by
  Wal-Mart McDonalds, among others

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Only credible certification is 3rd party,
independent, with explicit social and
environmental NGO support.- Michael Conroy,
expert on certifications
The type of certification matters
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E-Stewards Certification Program

• Highest standard in the industry
• Compliant with Basel Convention and Basel Ban
  Amendment
• All facilities must be certified

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Features of e-Steward Certification

• Currently available in 41 countries (EU, OECD,
  EFTA) countries
• Requires and incorporates ISO 14001
• Utilizes Accredited 3rd Party Certifying Bodies
  to Conduct Audits
• Comprehensive data security, occupational
  exposure, downstream due diligence, reuse, etc.

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Companies committed to using certified e-Stewards

• E-Stewards Enterprise companies

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How was the e-Stewards Standard developed?

• The e-Stewards Standard is the result of
  collaboration between
• The environmental community
• Electronics recyclers
• Auditors
• Occupational health experts
• Information security experts
• The accredited certification industry

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Summary

• Customers are demanding responsible recycling,
  even if the laws are not- Corporations-
  Manufacturers, who are taking back their
  products- Consumers bringing back their old
  products
• Media is exposing e-waste export problems
• Expect more regulation, enforcement of
  regulations
• Certification is the proof that customers want to
  see

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Contact

• Electronics TakeBack Coalition
• www.electronicstakeback.com
• Barbara Kyle
• bkyle_at_etakeback.org
• e-Stewards
• www.e-stewards.org