Comments on: EPA Assists in Creation of New Electronics Recycling Certification

By: Lauren Roman

Lauren Roman — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:27:21 +0000

All of the above arguments aside, the fact is that the EPA IS NOT MONITORING anyone at all. PERIOD. Completely misleading and erroneous title. The EPA facilitated the R2 process but now supports and recommends both certifications.

And as far as e-Stewards being the fox guarding the hen house, least you forget just who it was that opened the gaping export hole in the R2 standard: The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Lots of self-serving hens in that house, I’m afraid.

So, Mr. GreenGuy55, come clean. Might your name begin with a “D” and end with a “g”??
;)

By: GreenGuy55

GreenGuy55 — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:22:30 +0000

The “Recycling Industry Operating Standard” (“RIOS”) is another third-party certification standard for electronics recycling.

By: GreenGuy55

GreenGuy55 — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:17:40 +0000

Carol,

I respectfully disagree. e-Stewards is funded by the very recyclers that it purports to audit and certify – a major conflict of interest! Conversely, R2 is administered by an independent third party not-for profit called R2 Solutions:

http://www.r2solutions.org/

The EPA helped develop R2 and is satified that it fully meets the standards of sound environmental practices. e-Stewards on the other hand has historically relied on “pledges” of compliance by its members who were not audited. Now e-Stewards has developed a “pay to play” system of membership. Seems like the fox guarding the henhouse…

By: Carol Baroudi

Carol Baroudi — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 01:01:49 +0000

R2 may be the “newest” but it’s not the “highest”. R2 is chock full of loopholes. R2 language states that properly equipped facilities are required only if ‘economically feasible’. R2 “focus materials” include only
some circuit boards, items containing mercury, CRTs and CRT glass (does NOT include phosphors or frit), batteries, and items containing PCBs. Circuit boards without lead but still containing mercury
and batteries are exempted from the definition of toxic materials, and therefore are free to be exported without restriction, despite the international laws restricting this. Except for items containing PCBs, R2
permits shredding and shipment of toxic materials downstream for subsequent separation at “properly licensed” facilities. Toner is not an R2 “focus material”, though a potential carcinogen, and must only be
recycled if “economically feasible.”An R2 recycler can ship co-mingled shredded ewaste containing focus materials (except polychlorinated biphenols) to anyone, anywhere, who will warrant that they are properly licensed under local laws, and able to manage the material properly. It does NOT control practices that converthazardous co-mingled ewaste materials into benign resources, such as preventing open burning of insulatedwire plastic(s) for copper metal recovery, or open burning of
plastics in lieu of proper recycling. R2 is sub-standard as standards go. For serious, thorough, legally, ethically, socially responsible ewaste handling you really need e-Stewards.