By Amanda Smith-Teutsch | Managing Editor

For a free white paper on this topic, written by Pamela Gordon, click here.

Two electronics recycling standards have emerged, aimed at combating the perception that all electronics recycling takes place in deplorable conditions in disadvantaged regions. This perception, fueled by images and photos of small children playing with piles of e-waste while their parents “recycle” circuit boards and components nearby, persists many outside the industry, and many recyclers want to assure their clients that their electronic scrap is being handled properly.

“Clients, colleagues, and friends who have seen photos or footage of deplorable conditions of certain manual electronics ‘recycling’ communities in disadvantaged regions of the world ask me, ‘How do I know where the products I no longer need end up, and how they are processed?  Am I really doing the right thing by recycling them?’ They ask how to tell which electronics recycling services are responsible for human and environmental health, adding, ‘Wouldn’t it be a good idea if there were certifications or standards for recyclers so we could choose the ethical ones?’” said Pamela J. Gordon, founder and president of Technology Forecasters Inc., a strategic consulting firm serving electronics companies in best-practice supply chain and profitable environmental steps.

The development of two standards specific to the electronics recycling industry has given rise to a new set of questions. Now that Gordon can point to two set of standards aimed at ensuring proper practices are followed.

“As far as standards, I’ve mentioned that many recyclers are getting ISO 14001 certified, and that while it does provide a structure for continuous management and reduction of environmental impacts, ISO 14001 by itself doesn’t prescribe performance requirements or audits for electronics recycling practices. Now, however, I can point them to two standards for electronics recycling – R2 and e-Stewards – to compare and contrast and find recyclers becoming certified to the standard of their choice, or both,” Gordon said.

Kim Holmes is a consultant to R2 Solutions, the non-profit entity formed  in 2010 to house the R2 standard.

“The R2 Standard was developed during three years by a multi-stakeholder group, with facilitation funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Holmes. “Their goal was to create a voluntary, market-based mechanism for ensuring best practices in the electronics recycling industry, which would also provide essential information and assurances to prospective customers.” Stakeholders working on the standard included U.S. state regulators; electronics recyclers and refurbishers and their trade associations; and OEMs and customers of electronics recycling services. Representatives from environmental justice organizations were active participants for much of the R2 development process, but withdrew toward the end.

The end result of this three-year process was the “Responsible Recycling Practices for Use in Accredited Certifications Programs,” also known as the R2 Standard.

Barbara Kyle is the national coordinator for Electronics TakeBack Coalition. The coalition, along with the Basel Action Network, were the NGOs that had taken part in the development of R2 and left the effort near the end of the process to develop their own standard, the e-Stewards certification.

Kyle said BAN withdrew, believing that a field test of the draft standard could result in violations of the Basel Convention– the basis of BAN’s work. Even though R2 modified the document, addressing some of these concerns, but BAN still left and developed its e-Stewards Standard and certification program, beginning in late 2008, after the R2 Standard was completed.

The e-Stewards certification program was launched on April 15, 2010, with large corporations — including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Samsung — committing to using e-Stewards certified vendors.

R2 and e-Stewards have many fundamental similarities, said Gordon.

“Both standards seek to publically differentiate electronics recyclers based on their ethical practices,” she said.

Both are accredited by ANAB, which assesses and accredits certification bodies that demonstrate competence to audit and certify organizations conforming to management systems standards, she said, and each of the standards requires accredited third-party verification for certification.

Both standards are gathering support of the recycling community, she said.

“People concerned about the way their e-waste is treated can look to each standard to learn the minimum requirements of recyclers certified to the standard,” said Gordon. “Both programs call for a written hazards identification procedure, and require responding to hazards using engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protection equipment.”

Supporters of both certifications agree that standards are necessary.

“Years ago, several reporters interviewed a TFI client about their impressive e-recycling program. When the reporters started asking for the names of the electronic recyclers our client used, our client immediately had us independently evaluate their recycler’s ethical practices,” said Gordon. “If only an industry standard such as e-Stewards or R2 were available at the time!  Yes, standards are necessary to differentiate recycling companies’ adherence to practices that are important to those concerned about safe and responsible treatment of e-waste.”

The educational aspect of having standards provides an important benefit, said Gordon.

“Studying the principles of e-waste standards raises awareness for users, agencies, recyclers, and the media about what is fair, safe, and acceptable. This education is necessary for individuals to make informed choices that are best for themselves and their organizations,” she said.

The two standards do conflict in some areas, first and foremost on export practices, Gordon said. The e-Stewards  standards does not allow the export of hazardous electronic waste to developing countries for recycling or disposal, while R2 places restrictions on the practice, but does not out-right ban it.

Under R2, certification may be obtained on a facility-by-facility basis, while e-Stewards requires all company sites to become certified within 18 months; R2 requires an environmental management system, but does not specify a system, while e-Stewards prescribes ISO 14001. including detailed health and safety requirements–reflecting also most of the OSHAS 18001 standard.

These distinctions arise due to the e-Stewards standard being based off of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, Gordon said.

R2 was not designed with the Basel Convention in mind — with expectation that national and International laws may change — but instead specifies that certified recyclers abide by international law, said Gordon.

WeRecycle! was among the first group of recyclers certified to e-Stewards. The company’s services include asset management, data destruction, complete recycling, logistics services, and compliance assistance services.

“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,” said Mick Schum, president of WeRecycle.

Wells Fargo & Co., said it endorses e-Stewards companies as part of a desire to conduct business responsibly.

“Through the e-Stewards program, we make our intentions clear,” said Stephanie Rico, Vice President of Environmental Affairs at Wells Fargo. “We want to make sure that none of our hazardous e-waste ends up in places where it does not belong – especially in the hands of children.”

The R2 Standard also has support from electronics recyclers, manufacturers and customers.

Intechra, an electronics recycling and IT Asset Disposition service provider has been a long-time supporter of the R2 Standard as well as an early adopter. Intechra is a subsidiary of Arrow Electronics, has four R2-certified facilities in the  U.S.

“We really felt R2 created the best approach to addressing the concerns of our clients when it comes to managing retirement of their IT equipment,” Intechra President Michael Profit said. “Our clients want us to offer the highest levels of data security, ensure proper environmental recycling of materials, protect worker safety and be able to redeploy and reuse equipment when possible. We felt the R2 Standard best addresses all of these areas of concern, while respecting the importance for global enterprises to responsibly, ethically and legally conduct business wherever they operate.”

Though not in the original multi stakeholder group, electronics giant Sony supports R2.

“As a result of that collaborative process, R2 brings together manufacturers and responsible management of unwanted or surplus electronic products and components,” said Doug Smith, Director of Corporate Environment, Safety and Health for Sony. “From a customer’s perspective, R2 is a great baseline to promote competition amongst recyclers. The certification assures safe and secure processing, thus enabling more focus on innovative solutions which will yield higher recovery rates, all while protecting the environment and human health.”

Looking to the future, Gordon said she expects the certifications will continue to exist and earn the respect of various industry stakeholders, with the goal of promoting “communication and cooperation toward reducing e-waste in the first place … and vastly improving recycling practices for the health and sustainability of the environment, workers, and all of us.”