Currently, a legal loophole allows organizations used by the government to export electronic waste like discarded smartphones, computers, televisions and monitors to other countries, where they're dismantled by workers in unsafe conditions.
Read MoreIn here you'll find more about Basel Action Network’s (BAN) annotations on the statement made by Mr. Wong Kam-sing before the Legislative Council on July 6, 2016.
Read MoreAs part of its ongoing e-Trash Transparency Project, which installed and deployed more than 200 electronic tracking devices in old computer printers and monitors and then tracked them across the globe, the Basel Action Network (BAN) has announced that the tracker data it has received has revealed four more Washington State recyclers implicated in exporting toxic, non-functional electronic scrap equipment to locations in China in likely violation of Chinese law, recycling certification programs, and state and county policies.
Read MoreIn response to the press release issued by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) on June 17, 2016, regarding the highly polluting, illegal e-waste handling operations discovered in New Territories by BAN’s two year tracking study, BAN has called out the EPD for the following...
Read MoreThe e-Trash Transparency Project was designed to once and for all get real data to find out what really happens when you drop your old computer, monitor or printer at a charity or at an electronics recycler. BAN has placed 200 small GPS-based tracking devices into old printers and monitors and delivered them to Goodwill and to various recyclers around the country. Read our first report from the project and the press release to find out what we learned.
Read MoreThe Washington state-based electronics recycling firm Total Reclaim has had their e-Steward® certification withdrawn due to violation of the e-Stewards standard. The company was identified by BAN’s e-Trash Transparency Project (an electronic tracking program) to have exported mercury containing LCD monitors to Hong Kong. Total Reclaim has admitted and apologized for the violation in a public statement. The e-Stewards Evidentiary Report and FAQ regarding this incident can be found here.
Read MoreThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just released a new report praising BAN's e-Stewards Program for improving the responsible management of used electronics in the US.
Read MoreBest Buy has just dropped their requirement that its recyclers be certified e-Stewards. While we absolutely sympathize with Best Buy’s need to at least break even on a voluntary program that benefits the public, the real culprit here is the makers of the electronics in the first place.
Read MoreBAN welcomes a fair, fact-based debate about e-waste trade. Previously, we've reported on a growing movement of people denying the reality of e-waste trade. Now, we reply to one academic's critique and set the record straight.
Read MoreBAN uncovered that a US ship recycling company exported an old ship to shipbreaking beaches in India instead of recycling it themselves. The Horizon Trader was just beached at a notorious shipbreaking site in Alang, India.
Read MoreSierra Leone just announced that they want no part of a reported deal with Lebanon that would export Lebanese household waste to the West African nation.
The Government of Lebanon approved a plan to export loads of household trash to a nearby African or a Middle-Eastern country. According to Lebanon, they received clearance from the Government of Sierra Leone to export the waste there. Yet the Government of Sierra Leone denies such an agreement and refuses to accept the waste.
Read MoreAccording to reports last week from English-language media outlets in China, all informal e-scrap processors in Guiyu will be required to move their businesses to a newly built industrial park by the start of 2016. As of late November, 400 "large workshops" had been persuaded to make the move. Still, approximately 3,000 small businesses had yet to vacate their operations, news reports indicated.
Read MoreJust days after the Dec. 1 order for all 3,000 remaining unregulated electronic-waste workshops to move to a newly built industrial park or face power cuts, the smell of burning plastic from the few waste fires smoldering on the roadside still hangs heavy in the air around Guiyu.
Read MoreBAN just witnessed the recycling streets of Guiyu, China as a ghost-town. All operations were shuttered and only a few abandoned piles of e-waste left behind in some yards and waysides.
Read MoreBAN just launched Techno Trash Transparency Tracking Project crowdfunding campaign. We invite you to support this critical mission.
Read MoreFrom all of us at BAN, thank you very much for making #GivingTuesday a big success! We are incredibly grateful for each and every one of our supporters.
Read More#GivingTuesday is a global movement of people excited to give back to their communities. On Tuesday, December 1 (the first Tuesday after U.S. Thanksgiving), millions around the world will donate their time and their money to help their favorite charity.
Read MoreDo we have a fundamental human right to not be exposed to toxic substances?
Can we say “no trespassing” to chemicals?
Last week, our Executive Director, Jim Puckett, took off for Geneva, Switzerland to participate in a roundtable meeting.
Read MoreLast week, BAN joined a dedicated group to lead the way into a future with less waste.
We supported waste prevention by participating in the United Nations Basel Convention’s Fourth Expert Working Group on environmentally sound management.
Read MoreBeing in the eco-friendly Pacific Northwest, BAN often gets interest from our Seattle local community, particularly from students interested in learning more about environmental justice issues.
Recently, we hosted a group of 6th grade girls who were researching potential topics for an upcoming trash-themed robotics competition.
Read MoreBasel Action Network
600 1st Ave, Suite #114
Seattle, WA 98104
T +1 (206) 652-5555
© 2015 Basel Action Network (BAN). All Rights Reserved. Designed by Jess Yu
