BAN: NGO at the forefront of e-waste dialogue

How electronic companies and consumers discard e-waste has been on the agenda of some corporate, nonprofit and governmental organizations such as mobile carrier Nokia, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, respectively. But one nongovernmental organization is at the forefront of raising consumer awareness, advocating for human and environmental rights and building policy — the Basel Action Network (BAN).

One can look at BAN’s Website, with its graphic photos of e-waste sites, to see it works to inform not only the public but establish systems and partner stakeholders committed to upholding the 1989 Basel Convention's treaty, which calls for the transportation ban of hazardous waste materials from industrialized nations to poorer countries.

Seattle-based BAN, named in honor of the Basel Convention, is recognized by the United Nations Environment Program as a voice of the “toxic trade” issue and it serves as an advocate in concert with others on international e-waste policy, according to its Website. To further substantiate this claim, BAN’s leaders joined more than 100 experts in Vienna, Austria this month for the first-ever workshop/meeting to develop and make recommendations for a United Nations process to reduce and eliminate chemicals in the design, manufacturing and recycling of electronic products. The effort, summoned by Secretariats to the Basel and Stockholm Conventions and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), was in response to growing concerns by government, private sector and NGOs with the growth of e-waste and its effects on human health and the environment.

Outcomes, according to a news release from commondreams.org, include “pollution prevention (including elimination of hazardous chemical use) and improving process designs; ensuring that subcontractors protect workers and surrounding communities; development of pollution reporting; and intensifying health monitoring for workers and residents.”

This forum discussion can be viewed as significant, for stakeholders continue to debate about sustainable approaches to the e-waste problem, some citing high recycling costs, consumer misinformation and apathy, inconsistent electronic corporate social responsibility missions and practices, and lack of leadership on local, national and international governmental levels.

BAN’s leadership recognizes this conundrum and has positioned itself to be a disseminator of information for those looking to effect change. For instance, the group started its e-Stewards Initiative, which unifies consumers, corporations and cities to make the right choices. BAN instituted the e-Steward Pledge and certification programs, which unites 40 e-recyclers across the United States, who safely remove and process e-waste.