E-Stewards Launches Online E-Waste Trading Platform

The Basel Action Network has launched an online trading platform that will allow businesses to recycle used electronics with e-waste recyclers certified to the e-Stewards Standard.

The launch of the e-Stewards Marketplace, developed in cooperation with industry leaders and Retrace, a Seattle-based technology company, coincides with E-scrap 2014, the largest electronics recycling industry conference, held this year in Orlando, Florida.

BAN says the platform has been supported by e-Stewards recyclers and by companies such as LG Electronics, and the data protection services firm Tabernus, which have expressed their intent to use the site for their electronic asset disposition or services.

All transactions on the Marketplace go through e-Stewards Certified Recyclers, which conform to high standards for electronics recycling worldwide. E-Stewards Certified Recyclers must pass an audit that prohibits dumping toxic e-waste in landfills or in developing countries. It also forbids prison, forced or child labor practices and ensures that all customer data is wiped clean before it ever leaves their custody. The e-Stewards Standard also requires health and safety precautions to protect the health of recyclers.

Any business can register and sell used electronics on e-Stewards Marketplace while immediate buyers must be Certified E-Stewards Recyclers, which can in turn sell non-restricted (non-hazardous waste) materials such as refurbished equipment, or separated commodities to anyone. Additionally, e-Stewards recyclers can sell scrap to each other for further processing.

Last week BAN launched a mobile app that will measure the positive environmental impacts of using e-Stewards Certified Recyclers to manage electronic waste.