E-Stewards releases performance verification results

E-Stewards, an electronics recycling verification program developed by the Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN), has announced the most recent results of its Performance Verification (PV) Program, a feature of e-Stewards certification, which helps ensure its recyclers adhere to global environmental justice principles. 

Between 2021 and 2022, e-Stewards performed unannounced inspections and randomly delivered GPS trackers to e-Stewards certified recyclers. Of the companies inspected, e-Stewards says 18 were “caught doing the right thing.”  

“Our e-Stewards processors insisted on the Performance Verification Program to create an additional layer of assurance for their businesses,” says Selena Turnock, e-Stewards certification director. “This program distinguishes them from other electronics recyclers, showing that they embody the highest standards of environmental health and safety in all of their processes, every day of the year.”

To be e-Stewards certified, all recyclers agree to two forms of performance verification. E-Stewards says random, unannounced inspections ensure compliance beyond the routine annual audits accomplished by accredited third-party certification bodies. Performance verification inspections are carried out by consultant auditors employed directly by e-Stewards. Inspectors can arrive at any working hour and can request paperwork, interview employees and examine loading docks and floor operations.

E-Stewards reports ten companies successfully fulfilled expectations in their unannounced inspections in 2022:

• Ingram Micro Services LLC, Fairfield, New Jersey;
• Electronic Recyclers International Inc., Holliston, Massachusetts;
• Reldan, Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania;
• EcoTech Management Inc, Holbrook, New York;
• AnythingIT, North Bergen, New Jersey;
• Global Ewaste Solutions USA, Plymouth, Minnesota;
• Comprenew Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan;
• Opportunity Enterprises Inc., Valparaiso, Indiana;
• Wisetek Solutions Inc., Northborough, Massachusetts; and
• North Coast Services, Concord, New Hampshire.

The e-Stewards certification program also deploys electronic scrap equipment embedded with EarthEye GPS trackers at e-Stewards certified locations to monitor downstream pathways of electronic scrap. E-Stewards says this is to make sure companies fulfill their international trade obligations for the management of end-of-life electronics. The results of these deployments are announced two years after they occur, as equipment can sometimes remain at a facility for a long period of time before moving.

E-Stewards reports 12 locations demonstrated “good behavior” in downstream materials management via EarthEye GPS trackers in 2021:

• Friendly Earth International Inc., Seattle;
• Wisetek Solutions Inc., Hyattsville, Maryland;
• Executive Personal Computers Inc., Bethlehem, Pennsylvania;
• Vintage Tech Kuusakoski Inc., Langhorne, Pennsylvania;
• Universal Recycling Technologies, Clackamas, Oregon;
• Electronic Recyclers International Inc., Sumner, Washington;
• 4thBin, Brooklyn, New York;
• Apto Solutions, Austin, Texas;
• Wisetek Solutions Inc., Austin, Texas;
• Executive Personal Computers Inc., Stafford, Texas;
• I.T. Refresh, Fort Collins, Colorado; and
• Blue Star Recyclers, Denver.

The inspections and GPS tracking methods, which first became part of the program in 2017, are unannounced and random, which e-Stewards says ensures accountability and vigilance. If any irregularities are found during this process, e-Stewards investigates, and further steps may be taken.

“We commend our e-Stewards processors for their responsiveness, patience, cooperation and especially their integrity, as proven by our extracurricular tests and inspections,” says Turnock. “Performance verification is a distinguishing feature of what it means to be a certified e-Stewards processor.”