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Currently,
there are no responsible recyclers in your state who have signed the Electronics Recycler's Pledge of True
Stewardship (e-Stewards).
However, some manufacturers offer takeback programs individually. To see if your product is eligible for manufacturer takeback, see our Guide to Manufacturer Takeback. Click here for details.
While we sympathize with anyone unsuccesfully trying to find a responsible recycler nearby, we strongly recommend
that you only do business with the e-Stewards that have taken the trouble to qualify for, and have now
joined, the Pledge. It is very important to support those reyclers who have shown a willingness to make some
sacrifices to uphold high social and environmental standards. For more information on the Pledge click here.
The Pledge is based on environmental justice principles and international law that are in practice globally,
but generally ignored in North America. Computers and electronic equipment are currently made of hazardous
materials and until this changes, we all must take responsibility for safe recycling. Giving your unwanted
electronics to just any recycler, or even ones that claim to be environmentally responsible, could likely result in
hazardous e-waste being exported to developing countries where it poisons workers and communitites. Or it could
easily be sent to prison reycling operations that undercut responsible private sector recyclers. Other recyclers
dump hazardous e-waste into landfills or incinerators. To help us find true solutions to our current
e-waste crisis, here's what you can do:
Ship Your electronics to the closest e-Steward: You can do the right thing by shipping your e-waste to
the closet out-of-state Pledge signer, or "e-Steward." It will be a long time before we have responsible reyclers
in every town, so many people are willingly packaging up their waste and paying to have it shipped to the closet e-
Stward. Be sure to call in advance to find out how to ship your items and to find the total costs involved. Find a responsible recycler.
Help recruit e-Stewards in your area: You can help become a part of the solution by finding a local recycler
(look in the phone book under “Recycling Services”), making them aware of the Pledge, and asking them to consider
qualifying for it. Usually qualifying takes less than a month and if they are really doing the right thing,
becoming an e-Steward should not be a big obstacle for them. Interested recyclers can click here to learn more about qualifying for the Electronic Recycler’s
Pledge of True Stewardship.
Contact your equipment's manufacturer and ask them to take responsibility for their products at end-of
-life. Many manufacturers are providing take-back programs and this must be encouraged. Currently, any
manufacturer doing business in a number of European and Asian countries is already providing this service for their
customers by law! Help make this a reality in the US by showing that US consumers also expect them to take back
their products when no longer wanted!
Hopefully you will not need to hold onto your e-waste for long before a local recycler agrees to join the
Pledge program or a manufacturer agrees to takeback the waste. While doing the right thing might cost you a few
dollars today, you will be comforted by the fact that after enjoying the benefits of your electronic product during
its life, you are now taking responsibility for its proper recycling, and that your actions are protecting all of
our tomorrows by protecting the earth and its peoples. We thank you for your thoughtfulness!
Did you know? All developed countries except the United States, as well as most developing nations, have
ratified an international treaty called the Basel Convention, and that
the Convention and the Basel Ban were created to stop the environmental injustice and degradation caused by the
exporting of toxic waste to developing countries simply to exploit cheap labor, and because of lax environmental
laws and enforcement. For more information on the Basel Convention and efforts to prevent toxic trade, visit the Basel Action Network. For the full list of treaty signers, click here. When non-working e-waste is exported to developing
countries, it is often dismantled and processed using very toxic, primitive techniques, with unwanted materials
openly dumped, resulting in the poisoning of entire regions and populations. Such export also provides a
disincentive to redesign computers to be less toxic, more durable, and more easily recycled. To view pictures of
what takes place in China today click here.
To learn more about the overall problem of export, download the report Exporting Harm: The High Tech Trashing of Asia or order the
video. |
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