February, 09 2010, 10:06am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network (206) 652-5555, jpuckett@ban.org
Kate Slusark, NRDC (212) 727-4592, kslusark@nrdc.org
NRDC Endorses New Certification for Safe, Ethical Electronic Waste Recycling
e-Steward® Recyclers Will Not Dump your e-Waste in Developing Countries
WASHINGTON
The
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today announced its
endorsement of the first-ever certification program for electronics
recycling created jointly by the environmental community and business
leaders. The new e-Stewards Certification and Standard, held by the
Basel Action Network (BAN), is seen as essential to stem the tide of
hazardous old computers, TVs, monitors and other electronic waste
currently flooding African and Asian countries such as Ghana, Nigeria,
India, Pakistan and China.
Today, NRDC joins with BAN to call on all electronics recyclers to
become e-Steward Certified recyclers and, secondly, asks all
businesses to become designated "e-Steward Enterprises" by agreeing to
give priority to e-Steward recyclers for their old electronic assets.
"This initiative is sorely needed," said NRDC Senior Scientist Dr. Allen Hershkowitz. "Many
e-waste recyclers claim to be green, but in reality they rely on unsafe
and ecologically damaging methods like dumping millions of tons of
toxic waste each year in China, India and Africa. E-Stewards provide
businesses and consumers with a first-of-a-kind seal to identify the
truly responsible recyclers."
In 2008, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report
roundly criticizing the US EPA for not doing more to promulgate and
enforce rules to control the e-waste trade. Unfortunately, to date
little has changed and a market-based solution is seen as more
necessary than ever.
The e-Steward Certification is a fully accredited certification that
relies on independent, third-party auditors to verify safe and ethical
e-waste disposal. It is awarded to companies that recycle electronics
without using practices that far too many in U.S. electronics recycling
industry rely upon - the use of municipal landfills and incinerators,
the export to developing countries, or US prison labor for disposing of
toxic old electronics.
Businesses that agree to make best efforts to use e-Steward recyclers
will be rewarded as designated e-Stewards Enterprises. The first
global companies to receive these e-Steward Enterprise designations as
well as the first Certified e-Steward recyclers will be announced in
March. Already there are about 50 North American recyclers that are
considered "Pledged e-Stewards" which have been vetted by BAN and are
licensed and committed to becoming certified in the next 18 months.
These companies include some of the largest electronics recyclers in
North America.
For a complete list, go to: https://www.e-stewards.org/local_estewards.html.
Due to the widespread fraudulent or unscrupulous exportation and
irresponsible practices now plaguing the electronics recycling
industry, consumers are urged to use only these Pledged e-Steward
recyclers.
"NRDC recognized that we have finally created a principled yet
practical solution to e-waste recycling that environmentalists,
businesses and consumers can all embrace," said Jim Puckett, Executive Director of the Basel Action Network. "We are thrilled to receive NRDC's coveted endorsement in the lead up to our global launch."
For more information visit: www.e-stewards.org
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
(212) 727-2700LATEST NEWS
Mehdi Hasan Launches Media Platform With Naomi Klein, Greta Thunberg, and More
The journalist says Zeteo will feature "hard-hitting interviews and unsparing analysis" in op-eds, podcasts, and streaming shows.
Apr 15, 2024
After a few weeks of "soft launch" mode, journalist Mehdi Hasan on Monday officially debuted his new media platform, Zeteo, and declared that "this is not a one-man band."
The former MSNBC and Peacock host—whose show was canceled in November and wrapped up in January, after his incisive criticism of Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip—revealed nine of the contributors he has lined up so far, calling them "some of the biggest, boldest, and best names from media, activism, entertainment, and beyond."
They are Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Spencer Ackerman, comedian and podcaster W. Kamau Bell, Palestinian Canadian lawyer Diana Buttu, former CNBC and CNN correspondent John Harwood, foreign policy analyst Rula Jebreal, author Naomi Klein, novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen, actor and activist Cynthia Nixon, and Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.
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Hasan—who has also produced content for Al Jazeera, The Guardian, and The Intercept—has saidZeteo will feature "hard-hitting interviews and unsparing analysis" in a variety of forms, from op-eds and podcasts to streaming shows, beginning with "Mehdi Unfiltered."
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The project is expected to include two pipelines that would carry crude oil to the deepwater port each day, enabling the export of 2 million barrels of crude oil, loaded onto two supertankers at once, daily.
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Allie Rosenbluth, U.S. manager at Oil Change International, noted that the project has been approved despite the International Energy Agency's clear assessment in 2021 that "all new investments in oil and gas projects must stop if the world is going to reach its climate goals," including limiting planetary heating to 1.5°C.
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The direct action group Climate Defiance expressed doubt that the approval of SPOT will help Biden win over any voters as the 2024 election approaches.
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Apr 15, 2024
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Himes, an
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Snowden, who in 2013 exposed the NSA's
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"The House bill represents one of the most dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history."
Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program,
said the "disregard for Americans' civil liberties" in Himes' reply to Vitka "is staggering."
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URGENT: Please read thread below. We have just days to convince the Senate NOT to pass a “terrifying” law (@RonWyden) that will force U.S. businesses to serve as NSA spies. CALL YOUR SENATOR NOW using this call tool (click below or call 202-899-8938). 1/25 https://t.co/HAOHURZoJQ
— Elizabeth Goitein (@LizaGoitein) April 15, 2024
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If the bill does reach the closely divided Senate, privacy advocates are expected to continue their fight for meaningful reforms.
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