The Pledge

Electronics Recycler’s Pledge of True Stewardship We, the signing and registered recycling company, agree to uphold the following: We will not allow any hazardous E-waste* we handle to be sent to solid waste (non-hazardous waste) I.        landfills or incinerators for disposal or energy recovery, either directly or through intermediaries. Consistent with decisions of the international Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary II. Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, we will not allow the export of hazardous E-waste we        handle to be exported from developed to developing countries** either directly or through intermediaries. We will not allow any E-waste we handle to be sent to prisons for recycling either directly or through III. intermediaries. We assure that we have a certified, or otherwise comprehensive and comparable “environmental IV. management system” in place and our operation meets best practices. We commit to ensuring that the entire recycling chain, including downstream intermediaries and recovery V.        operations such as smelters, are meeting all applicable environmental and health regulations. Every effort will be made to only make use of those facilities (e.g. smelters), which provide the most efficient and least polluting recovery services available globally. We agree to provide visible tracking of hazardous E-Waste throughout the product recycling chain. VI. The tracking information should show the final disposition of all hazardous waste materials. If there is a concern about trade secrets, an independent auditor acceptable to parties concerned can be used to verify compliance with this pledge. We agree to provide adequate assurance (e.g. bonds) to cover environmental and other costs of the closure VII. of our facility, and additionally to provide liability insurance for accidents and incidents involving wastes under our control and ownership. Additionally we will ensure due diligence throughout the product chain. We agree to support Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs and/or legislation in order to VIII. develop viable financing mechanisms for end-of-life that provides that all legitimate electronic recycling companies have a stake in the process. We further agree to support design for environment and toxics use reduction programs and/or legislation IX. for electronic products. include circuit boards, CRTs as well as computers, monitors, peripherals, and other electronics containing circuit boards and/or CRTs. It will also include mercury and PCB containing components, lamps and devices. The definition of “hazardous electronic waste” will not include non- hazardous wastes such as copper unless it is contaminated with a Basel hazardous waste such as lead, cadmium, PCBs, mercury etc. The definition of “hazardous electronic waste” includes non-working materials exported for repair unless assurances exist that hazardous components (such as CRTs or circuit boards) will not be disposed of in the importing country as a result. The definition of “hazardous electronic waste” does not include working equipment and parts that are certified as working, that are not intended for disposal or recycling, but for re-use and resale. The term 'hazardous e-waste' as used in this Pledge does not pertain to, nor is synonymous with any current legal US definitions of 'hazardous waste', but is meant for the purposes of this Pledge only. belonging to either the European Union, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or Liechtenstein. For a complete list of OECD and EU countries see http://www.ban.org/country_status/country_status.html and find countries shaded in gray.
 * Following best interpretation of the definitions of the Basel Convention, “hazardous electronic waste” will for the purposes of this pledge
 * Following the definitions of the Basel Convention and its Basel Ban Amendment, developing countries are any country not