The World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association (WR3A) is a business consortium dedicated to the reform of the trade of e-waste. The WR3A is inspired by fair trade organizations.
The World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association (WR3A) is a business consortium dedicated to the reform of the trade of e-waste. The WR3A is inspired by fair trade organizations.
WR3A is a Fair Trade association (tradename Fair Trade Recycling reserved in 2013) established both to improve the export markets for surplus electronics and e-waste, and to defend them from biased reporting and racial profiling. WR3A was conceived in 2006 following a visit to China by a group including a USA electronics recycler (American Retroworks Inc.), a University of California Davis recycling program director, and a Seattle recycler with a zero-export policy.
The group was inspired by a visit to three of China's semi knock down factories. Those factories purchased USA computer monitors which still have functional CRTs. The CRTs are knocked down to the bare tube, which is inserted into a new TV or monitor case, complete with new tuner board, etc. WR3A founders observed that Western journalists reporting on the purchase and import of the used CRTs invariably described them as "primitive" wire burning operations, rather than re-manufacturers. These were often the same contract manufacturers who originally assembled brand new CRT monitors, and now rebuilt second-hand CRTs. The USA has its own CRT refurbishing factory, Video Display Corp of Tucker, Georgia. [1]
WR3A proposed to form a coalition of USA companies to export only functional CRT monitors directly to the reuse factories, removing imploded, damaged, screen-burned, older, or non-compliant raster (e.g. Trinitron) CRTs from loads destined for CRT factories. [2] The USA companies which remove and recycle the bad 1/3 of CRTs would benefit from higher prices, and the Chinese factories would bypass the sorting villages such as Guiyu. The WR3A was swamped by orders from Asian factories that year. [3]
The Chinese government, which took over most of the new CRT manufacturing capacity worldwide in the 1990s, [4] eventually opposed the import of used CRTs. Many of the SKD factory owners relocated their businesses to countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Others relocated their used monitor sourcing operations only to Hong Kong and Vietnam, trucking the CRTs overland to Chinese factories.
During this period, several anti-globalist NGOs began a campaign to end trade in used electronics, especially CRTs. CBS 60 Minutes, The Economist, BusinessWeek and others ran reports claiming that 80% of the displays exported were not reused but burned for copper in primitive scrapyards. The source of the 80% dumping claim later retracted it. [5] [6]
Eventually, reuse operations in Asia turned to re-export to Africa, and used local sources (urban Asian cities) for used CRTs used in remanufacturing new TV and monitor displays. With the decline of purchases of used displays from the USA in 2011, WR3A recognized organizational conflicts between cooperative suppliers competing for a declining market. The organization refined its mission in 2013 emphasize "anti-defamation" of overseas refurbishing companies, and promoted used electronics exports through peer-reviewed fair trade agreements. Importers of used equipment in Africa, Asia and Latin America consider the organization a defender of Tech Sector refurbishers. WR3A remains dedicated to the principle that if used computer exports are outlawed, only outlaws will export used computers. [7] The organization strongly refutes what it considers racial profiling of tech sector in emerging markets.
The organization has members in South America, Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe, dedicated to defending legitimate used electronics exporters from what the organization considers false and defamatory declarations as "e-waste" and "toxics externalization".
In 2015, 2017, and 2018 WR3A led visits to the Agbogbloshie District in central Accra, bringing journalists from Al Jazeera, The Independent, Smithsonian, and others to meet with Dagbani speaking translators. The visit led the journalists to discredit [8] allegations that Agbogbloshie was "the largest e-waste dump in the world", a "former wetland on the outskirts of the city", and that it received hundreds of sea containers full of junk electronics. WR3A found credible evidence that dumping at the site was being exaggerated by Accra Metropolitan Association representatives interested in relocating economic refugees to develop the property, three months before forced evictions. Used electronics processed at the site were shown to be delivered by carters with wheelbarrows, and to consist of devices, such as VCRs, which had been imported decades previously. WR3A provided reporters with World Bank statistics showing domestic Ghana generation more than accounted for the e-waste observed in Ghana, and recorded the organization's own interviews of Ghana Tech Sector representatives (uploaded to Youtube / WR3A).
In September 2013, the WR3A adapted the tradename "Fair Trade Recycling". The trademark was registered with the USPTO and registered as a supplemental certification on May 26, 2015. The organization does not claim to be recognized by "fairtrade" (one word).
In April 2013, WR3A held a "Fair Trade Recycling Summit" [9] at Middlebury College in Vermont. [10] The Summit brought together researchers from Memorial University (Canada), Pontificia Universidad Catholica de Peru, University of Southern California (USA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), representatives of the USA International Trade Office, Basel Convention Secretariat, Interpol, and several used electronics importers from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The group deliberated on beneficial development in emerging markets through electronics reuse and repair (labelled "Tinkerer's Blessing" after Yuzo Takahashi's 2000 technology history, A Network of Tinkerers. [11] ). The role of electronics repair and reverse engineering in development was contrasted with the so-called "Resource Curse" of economic development through natural resource exploitation. Middlebury students and presenters discussed whether a more balanced approach to recycling secondary materials may be warranted. A follow up meeting between WR3A and Interpol was held in July 2013. [12] In November, 2013, Interpol announced a new research program to study the used electronics trade before continuing arrests of African importers (Project Eden). [13]
The debate between Fair Trade Recycling advocates and the anti-export organization Basel Action Network was profiled in USA Today (September 26, 2013), [14] in Discovery Magazine, and in NIH in 2006 [15]
In July 2012, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, announced a 5-year research project to study and map the routes of used electronics, WEEE, and "e-waste" exports. [16] WR3A is a partner in the research grant, along with researchers from universities in Peru and California. The first year, the group will document efforts to develop a "Fair Trade Recycling" model in Mexico (see NPR, PBS, AP, coverage [17] ), and then research the possible application of the model to Peru, Bangladesh, and China.
WR3A formerly adapted and registered the tradename "Fair Trade Recycling" in 2012.[ citation needed ]
WR3A collaborated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology for publication of MIT's January 2012 study on E-waste generation and exports. WR3A provided researchers with detailed reconciliations of 3 years of exports from WR3A members. MIT compared WR3A data to corroborating data from ISRI, USEPA, Basel Secretariat (Ghana, Nigeria) studies. [18]
In May 2011, WR3A was interviewed as part of an "e-waste" by German news magazine ZDF.Kultur, which investigated the assumptions that African imports were "primitive" and linked exports to Egypt's Green Revolution. [19]
In March, 2011. WR3A was profiled in Motherboard.tv, for the organization's case that reduced exports of used electronics by "stewards" was having unintended consequences. [20]
In October, 2010, WR3A announced a partnership with Basel Action Network to reduce unnecessary breakage and destruction of working computer monitors in California, under California SB20 laws. This followed a report critical of California "cancellation" policies published in the Sacramento Bee on July 19, 2010. [21]
On July 30, 2010, Discovery News presented an analysis contrasting WR3A's "fair trade" engagement approach with the Basel Action Network's (BAN) "trade restriction" approach, and abstained from choosing sides., [22] [23]
On May 15, 2009, National Public Radio's (NPR) program Living On Earth profiled one of WR3A's members - a women's cooperative doing TV repair and recycling in Mexico. [24]
In January 2009, the organization presented statistics and a film at the Keynote Address of the CES 2009 in Las Vegas. [25] The statistics demonstrated that the rate of growth of internet access is much higher in countries with very low incomes. It is logically unlikely that this growth can be achieved with new computers. The WR3A also presented film of the reuse and refurbishing operations which demonstrate proper recycling practices and best available practices in these ten countries. [26]
The WR3A was contracted as a consultant to the US Environmental Protection Agency for its July 2008 publication Electronic Waste Management in the United States. [27]
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries. It does not, however, address the movement of radioactive waste. The convention is also intended to minimize the rate and toxicity of wastes generated, to ensure their environmentally sound management as closely as possible to the source of generation, and to assist developing countries in environmentally sound management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate.
Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually referred to as black goods due to many products being housed in black or dark casings. This term is used to distinguish them from "white goods" which are meant for housekeeping tasks, such as washing machines and refrigerators, although nowadays, these would be considered black goods, some of these being connected to the Internet. In British English, they are often called brown goods by producers and sellers. In the 2010s, this distinction is absent in large big box consumer electronics stores, which sell entertainment, communication and home office devices, light fixtures and appliances, including the bathroom type.
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a strategy to add all of the estimated environmental costs associated with a product throughout the product life cycle to the market price of that product, contemporarily mainly applied in the field of waste management. Such societal costs are typically externalities to market mechanisms, with a common example being the impact of cars.
Used goods, also known as secondhand goods, are any item of personal property offered for sale not as new, including metals in any form except coins that are legal tender, but excluding books, magazines, and postage stamps. Used goods may also be handed down, especially among family or close friends, as a hand-me-down.
Electronic waste recycling, electronics recycling ore-waste recycling is the disassembly and separation of components and raw materials of waste electronics; when referring to specific types of e-waste, the terms like computer recycling or mobile phone recycling may be used. Like other waste streams, re-use, donation and repair are common sustainable ways to dispose of IT waste.
Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution. The growing consumption of electronic goods due to the Digital Revolution and innovations in science and technology, such as bitcoin, has led to a global e-waste problem and hazard. The rapid exponential increase of e-waste is due to frequent new model releases and unnecessary purchases of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), short innovation cycles and low recycling rates, and a drop in the average life span of computers.
Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose or to fulfill a different function. It should be distinguished from recycling, which is the breaking down of used items to make raw materials for the manufacture of new products. Reuse – by taking, but not reprocessing, previously used items – helps save time, money, energy and resources. In broader economic terms, it can make quality products available to people and organizations with limited means, while generating jobs and business activity that contribute to the economy.
The Basel Action Network (BAN), a charitable non-governmental organization, works to combat the export of toxic waste from technology and other products from industrialized societies to developing countries. BAN is based in Seattle, Washington, United States, with a partner office in the Philippines. BAN is named after the Basel Convention, a 1989 United Nations treaty designed to control and prevent the dumping of toxic wastes, particularly on developing countries. BAN serves as an unofficial watchdog and promoter of the Basel Convention and its decisions.
Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
Guiyu, in Guangdong Province, China, is widely perceived as the largest electronic waste (e-waste) site in the world. In 2005, there were 60,000 e-waste workers in Guiyu who processed the more than 100 truckloads that were transported to the 52-square-kilometre area every day. The constant movement into and processing of e-wastes in the area leading to the harmful and toxic environment and living conditions, coupled with inadequate facilities, have led to the Guiyu town being nicknamed the "electronic graveyard of the world".
Electronic waste or e-waste in the United States refers to electronic products that have reached the end of their operable lives, and the United States is beginning to address its waste problems with regulations at a state and federal level. Used electronics are the quickest-growing source of waste and can have serious health impacts. The United States is the world leader in producing the most e-waste, followed closely by China; both countries domestically recycle and export e-waste. Only recently has the United States begun to make an effort to start regulating where e-waste goes and how it is disposed of. There is also an economic factor that has an effect on where and how e-waste is disposed of. Electronics are the primary users of precious and special metals, retrieving those metals from electronics can be viewed as important as raw metals may become more scarce
Electronic waste is a significant part of today's global, post-consumer waste stream. Efforts are being made to recycle and reduce this waste.
Mobile phone recycling describes the waste management of mobile phones, to retrieve materials used in their manufacture. Rapid technology change, low initial cost, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus, which contributes to the increasing amount of electronic waste around the globe.
Electronic waste or e-waste in China refers to electronic products that are no longer usable and are therefore dumped or recycled. China is the world's largest importer and producer of electronic waste with over 70% of all global e-waste ending up in the world's largest dumpsites. An estimated 60–80% of this e-waste is handled through illegal informal recycling processes, without the necessary safety precautions legally required by Chinese government regulations. Processing e-waste in this way directly causes serious environmental damage and permanent health risks in areas surrounding the disposal sites. While the Chinese government and the international community have taken action to regulate e-waste management, ineffective enforcement, legislative loopholes, and the pervasiveness of informal recycling have been obstacles to mitigating the consequences of e-waste.
The e-Stewards Initiative is an electronics waste recycling standard created by the Basel Action Network.
As a nation, Americans generate more waste than any other nation in the world, officially with 4.4 pounds (2.0 kg) of municipal solid waste (MSW) per person per day, with another study estimating 7.1 pounds (3.2 kg) per capita per day. Fifty five percent of this waste is contributed as residential garbage, while the remaining forty five percent of waste in the U.S.'s ‘waste stream' comes from manufacturing, retailing, and commercial trade in the U.S. economy. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Nevada produces the most waste at "[nearly] 8 pounds (3.6 kg) per person per day". Approximately 90% of all waste produced by Nevadans ends up in landfills. "Wasteful" states Michigan, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Oregon as well as Washington also dominated the list's 5-year period.
Agbogbloshie is a nickname of a commercial district on the Korle Lagoon of the Odaw River, near the center of Accra, Ghana's capital city in the Greater Accra region. Near the slum called "Old Fadama", the Agbogbloshie site became known as a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap collected from mostly the western world. It was alleged to be at the center of a legal and illegal exportation network for the environmental dumping of electronic waste (e-waste) from industrialized nations. The Basel Action Network, a small NGO based in Seattle, has referred to Agbogbloshie as a "digital dumping ground", where they allege millions of tons of e-waste are processed each year.
Recommerce or reverse commerce is the selling of previously owned, new or used products, mainly electronic devices or media such as books, through physical or online distribution channels to buyers who repair, if necessary, then reuse, recycle or resell them.
The global waste trade is the international trade of waste between countries for further treatment, disposal, or recycling. Toxic or hazardous wastes are often imported by developing countries from developed countries.
Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) waste, or e-waste, is illegally brought into African states every year. A minimum of 250,000 metric tons of e-waste comes into the continent, and according to the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, the majority of it in West Africa enters from Europe. Developed countries commodify underdeveloped African states as dumping grounds for their e-waste, and due to poor regulations and a lack of enforcement institutions, illegal dumping is promoted. Currently, the largest e-waste dumping site in Africa is Agbogbloshie in Ghana. While states like Nigeria do not contain e-waste sites as concentrated as Agbogbloshie, they do have several small sites.