Basel Action Network and our Philippines-based affiliate BAN Toxics strongly condemned the Canadian government today for violating the Basel Convention by refusing to repatriate more than 50 40-foot intermodal containers, each filled with household trash that were illegally exported from Canada almost two years ago.

Despite many requests by the Philippine government to return the waste as is required under international law, Canada is charged by the environmentalists with bullying the Philippines into finally accepting the waste. 

We announced today a new Performance Verification initiative to increase rigor and confidence in our e-Stewards® certification program, already considered to be the "gold standard" for responsible recyclers of electronics worldwide.

Performance Verification will involve random, unannounced, on-site facility inspections to verify ongoing day-to-day performance is meeting the e-Stewards Standard. The inspections will be in addition to the normal, prescribed yearly scheduled third-party audits accomplished by accredited certification bodies.

The e-waste recycler, E-Waste Systems, Inc. (EWSI), has abandoned its primary US-based recycling operations, leaving behind significant volumes of hazardous e-waste.

The Geneva, New York facility is no longer accepting materials and various e-waste collections events had been cancelled. Workers have not been paid since October 18, despite never receiving pink slips of termination. Due to failure to pay the rent, the landlord locked the doors on January 28.

Basel Action Network has discovered that Diversified Recycling, an electronics recycler operating in Orlando, Florida and Norcross, Georgia, was recently engaged in transporting daily tractor-trailer loads of toxic TVs and computer monitors to a small warehouse operation where cathode ray tubes (CRTs) were smashed by hand and then dumped in a local construction landfill.

BAN also traced a trans-Atlantic container shipment of electronic waste containing non-functional LCD equipment from the same warehouse firm, known as Sarah’s Trading, to Asia. Both the dangerous smashing and the export and dumping of electronic waste are likely to violate numerous local, state, and federal laws.

Stone Castle Recycling, previously one of Utah's largest recyclers of electronic waste, has abandoned its three facilities and the owner is missing. The company has ceased all operations and has left behind several warehouses and yards filled with an estimated 7,600 tons of toxic electronic wastes and charred residues. 

Concerned about a possible limitation on the ability of those exercising their right to free speech to avoid being harassed by frivolous but costly defamation lawsuits, major media outlets including National Public Radio, CNN, the Washington Post, Seattle Times, Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, and Time Magazine, filed an Amicus Brief last Friday supporting the appeal of the Basel Action Network (BAN).

BAN is a Seattle-based global environmental watchdog organization that was sued by an electronics recycler. In 2011, BAN spoke out against Chicago area electronics recycling firm, Intercon Solutions, after documenting the export of hazardous electronic waste from Intercon’s Chicago Heights facility to Hong Kong, China.

Basel Action Network, well known for discovering the global dumping of electronic waste in Asia, has joined forces with CBS News in California to expose a new type of dumping, this time in Arizona.

BAN found three warehouses in Yuma, Arizona, holding what is believed to be more than 9 million pounds of abandoned toxic picture tubes from old TVs and computer monitors originally collected by the California state Recycling Program.

Dow Management, the alleged recycling company that held the glass in Yuma, has disappeared and the principals are nowhere to be found. Dow was paid more than $581,000 by California Recyclers to take the glass, who were in turn paid $3.6 million from a California legislated recycling fund.

Global electronics and appliance innovator LG Electronics has received high praise from the toxic trade watchdog group Basel Action Network for ensuring that none of LG’s e-waste is exported to developing countries.

BAN applauded LG Electronics USA for confirming that all of its customer take-back programs and all of its own office equipment is recycled responsibly through certified e-Stewards® recyclers. LG is even in the process of certifying its own Service Center under the e-Stewards program.