Samsung and Greenchip give Platinum Sponsorships

URT, Regency, and ARCOA provide Gold E-Scrap Sponsorships

e-Stewards Processors and Enterprises demonstrated great support for e-Stewards by helping underwrite our presence at next week’s E-Scrap & Electronics Reuse Conference in New Orleans, with thirteen companies in total sponsoring (see below for the full list). Samsung Electronics America and Greenchip E-waste & ITAD Solutions generously provided Platinum Level sponsorships, and Universal Recycling Technologies, Regency Technologies, and ARCOA provided Gold Level sponsorships. e-Stewards wants to thank the generosity of all the companies below for their show of support. We look forward to thanking them all in person at E-Scrap & Electronics Reuse Conference next week!

Platinum Level:

Samsung Electronics America

Greenchip E-Waste & ITAD Solutions

Gold Level:

Universal Recycling Technologies

Regency Technologies

ARCOA

Silver Level:

Kuusakoski

Friendly Earth International

ERI

Bronze Level:

Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations

CompuCycle

eLoop

eForce Recycling

Orion Registrar

e-Stewards at E-Scrap & E-Reuse 2023

The e-Stewards team is gearing up for the 2023 E-Scrap & Electronics Reuse Conference in New Orleans next week. Jim Puckett, Selena Turnock, and Daniel Puckett will be attending, and they look forward to seeing many new and familiar faces there!

e-Stewards will be hosting a two-hour workshop on Monday, September 18 at 10:00 am in Strand 11, with light snacks, iced tea, and coffee generously provided by ERI. At the workshop, you will learn about the basics of e-Stewards certification, information on a new standard from e-Stewards built specifically for repair and refurbishment businesses, and the connection between e-Stewards and ESG priorities. Panelists will include Neil Samahon (Opportunity Enterprises), Emily Farrant (Greeneye Partners), Chris Kaasmann (Greenchip), Amanda Tischer Buros (Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations), Todd Zegers (Circular Integrity), and Kyle Wiens (iFixit).

On Wednesday, September 20 at 10:30 am, Jim Puckett, Executive Director of Basel Action Network, which administers e-Stewards, will be participating in a panel session entitled, “Industry Evolution Around E-Plastics.” This panel of experts will explore compliance realities, processing advancements, and more surrounding recycling plastics from electronics.

The e-Stewards team will also be at Booth #200, so please come by to say hello, ask questions about our programs, and learn more about what certification can do for your organization. Please reach out through the conference app or email Daniel Puckett (daniel@e-stewards.org) if you would like to schedule a time to speak with our team in person in New Orleans.

Launch: First Review of New Standard for Refurbishers

Today, the Draft Ethical and Responsible Repair, Refurbishment, and Reuse of Electronic Equipment and Information Technology (The Repair Standard) was released to the First Review Team and to Certifying and Accreditation Bodies. The new standard is designed to better serve the growing segment of the ITAD (Information Technology Asset Disposition) industry that centers around repair, reconditioning, reuse, and resale of used electronic equipment, and not processing of material with potentially hazardous processing technologies such as shredders, compactors, smelting, or chemical refining. The new Standard will follow the current Standard in many ways to ensure ethical and responsible IT management, but will notably not include requirements for industrial hygiene, direct management of materials of concern, mass-balance accounting, etc. The new standard development was made possible with financial support from Samsung. There is still time at the upcoming E-Scrap & E-Reuse Conference to sign up to review the draft Standard. To sign up for the First Review Team, contact Selena Turnock (selena@e-stewards.org) or visit the e-Stewards Workshop at the E-Scrap & E-Reuse Conference next week on Monday, September 18 at 10:00 am in the Strand 11 presentation room.

Continuing our updates from the last edition, e-Stewards wishes to introduce two more Leadership Council members. Amanda Tischer Buros is a seasoned professional in the IT asset disposition (ITAD) and electronics recycling industry, leveraging her expertise to drive innovation and sustainable practices. With a career that began at Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations in 2015, Amanda has emerged as a distinguished leader in project management and team leadership. In her current role as Director of OEM Solutions and Recycling Sales, Amanda’s unwavering passion for excellence is evident as she implements industry leading compliance services, recycling sales strategies, and OEM programming for Dynamic. Her commitment to continuous improvement has contributed to the company’s unparalleled standard of excellence. With extensive knowledge of EPR legislation, e-waste programming and management, contract and risk mitigation, and service excellence, Amanda is respected as a thought leader within the electronics disposition industry. Additionally, she maintains a diverse experience as it relates to that of regulatory compliance, technical standards and certification requirements. Before joining Dynamic, Amanda enriched her expertise in the non-profit sector, further strengthening her understanding of social and environmental responsibility. Amanda holds an MBA from Viterbo University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.

Jeremy Jones is the Environmental Stewardship Program Manager for Sony Electronics where he ensures compliance with various state and provincial laws and regulations in the US and Canada. He began his journey in electronics stewardship in 2012 by publishing a series of stewardship-focused articles for The Guardian in collaboration with the Bosch Foundation and Electronics Goes Green in Berlin. Prior to Sony, he served as the West Coast program manager for PaintCare and as an environmental analyst for Hennepin County (MN). In both roles, he worked directly on environmental programs and legislation to address reduction of carbon emissions and socially responsible material management.

e-Stewards New Lead Auditor Training – Register Now!

Basel Action Network, partnered with Greeneye Partners, will host a new Lead Auditor training scheduled on October 4 and 5, 2023. This 14-hour course is presented in two 7-hour segments in an online, real-time webinar over two consecutive days with live trainers from both e-Stewards and Greeneye Partners. The purpose of this course is to provide new e-Stewards auditors, assessors, program staff, and consultants with the knowledge and training required to assess conformity with the most current version V4.1 of the e-Stewards Standard.

A valid certificate of successful completion of ISO 14001:2015 upgrade or lead auditor training is required of all attendees. The cost of the course is $895 per participant. Course details and online registration may be found here. Please contact Selena Turnock, selena@e-stewards.org, with any questions.

50% Discount for New e-Stewards

In 2022, e-Stewards offered an introductory discount on the first-year license and marketing fee for new processors becoming e-Stewards certified. After several companies took advantage of this opportunity to achieve certification, we have extended the 50% discount for all new companies’ first-year license and marketing fees. This offer is only available to processors that have never been e-Stewards Certified. 

If you are interested in e-Stewards certification, please reach out to us at info@e-stewards.org or fill out our Start the Process form on our website. We look forward to hearing from you!

California passes Right to Repair

California’s legislature has passed the Right to Repair Act, making California the third state in the country to pass an electronics right-to-repair act, following New York and Minnesota. The California bill requires manufacturers to make repair materials available for seven years for electronics priced $100 or more and for three years for those devices costing between $50 and $99.99. This includes parts, tools, documentation, and software. With California home to many of the world’s tech giants, this bill is a significant step forward in the fight for right-to-repair, especially after Apple announced its support for the bill in August. The bill now must go to the Senate for a final concurrence vote before it heads to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Our e-Stewards in the News

Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), an e-Stewards Enterprise, has helped 2,800 residents utilize Pittsburgh’s hard-to-recycle program, which it runs in collaboration with the city. Launched in May 2022, the program has moved more than 189,000 pounds of electronics, which are then sent to e-Stewards-certified processor eLoop in Export, PA.

Universal Recycling Technologies will help Guam in its cleanup after May’s Typhoon Mawar, which involves the management of damaged electronics from 41 public schools on the island. According to an interview with E-Scrap News, the company expects to receive about two dozen containers of material at its Oregon facility, including electronics and solar panels, weighing roughly half a million pounds.

Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations has developed a carbon calculator to help its clients better estimate the potential Scope 3 emissions avoided by using their services.

If you have news to share, please reach out to us at davidb@ban.org, as we love to hear from our e-Stewards about their accomplishments. 

e-Stewards Standard Tip



Closure Plans and Financial Surety: Organizations certified to the e-Stewards Standard are required to create, document, and maintain proper site closure plan(s) to manage compliance and conformance obligations in the event of a planned or unplanned closure.

The e-Stewards Standard requires this document to consist, at a minimum, of the following:

• Description of the relevant site and inventory;
• A schedule of closure activities and costs; and
• A plan for qualified third-party testing, analysis, and remediation upon closure of all facilities and sites where the Organization has ever utilized PHPTs, and/or stored or managed Electronic Equipment outside of sheltered and impermeably floored buildings.

e-Steward Organizations should always refer to local legal requirements, lease/rental agreements, or other applicable compliance obligations to understand if a closure plan process is an additional requirement within their operating jurisdiction.

e-Stewards Certified Organizations shall additionally establish funds or other financial instrument(s) sufficient to cover costs for the execution and completion of the closure according to the closure plan. This financial instrument must be held in the custody of a third-party or in a financial tool specified by law, if applicable. Examples of third-party custody include, but are not limited to, escrow, insurance policies, 3rd party bonds, or surety bonds. Corporate parent entities are not an eligible custodian of financial instrument(s).

For full details of the requirements, see sections 6.4.1 and 6.4.2 in the e-Stewards Standard, accessible here. Please contact Selena Turnock (selena@e-stewards.org) with any questions.

A Trip to the Desert for ITAD Summit 2023

Our e-Stewards Business Manager, Daniel Puckett, along with Selena Turnock and Jim Puckett, attended the 2023 ITAD Summit in Scottsdale, AZ, in July. Daniel shares his experience about the conference.

“In July, our e-Stewards team had the privilege of attending and presenting at the ITAD Summit in Scottsdale, AZ. The location made it a week of enjoying the beautiful scenery from the safety of the great indoors (with wonderful AC that is refreshingly found inside every building in town). Our workshop drew attendees from every segment of the industry, all seeking insights into responsible electronic waste management. The workshop provided a comprehensive overview of the e-Stewards certification and how it can benefit businesses and organizations in their sustainability journey. My first time speaking at a conference, I was lucky to share the stage with our esteemed panelists: Joe Clayton (ARCOA), Amanda Tischer Buros (Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations), and Tom Delich (Greeneye Partners). With their insights, attendees gained a deeper understanding of the certification's criteria, its relevance to their operations, and the positive environmental and social impact it can have. e-Stewards also announced its new standard built specifically for repair and refurbishment businesses and shared the news that e-Stewards will continue to offer a 50% discount on the first year’s license fee for those joining e-Stewards.

“While the workshop was the centerpiece of our participation, we also had the opportunity to engage in great conversations at our booth. We were able to connect with fellow industry professionals, share knowledge, and explore potential collaborations. Outside of the conference sessions, we savored the vibrant culinary scene in downtown Scottsdale, relishing the local cuisine and very warm Arizona evenings.

“In addition to a renewed appreciation for milder climes, we left with newfound insights, connections, and a renewed sense of purpose in our mission to promote responsible electronic waste management. We look forward to building on the momentum generated at the ITAD Summit and continuing a great conference season at the E-Scrap & E-Reuse Conference next week.”

Jim Puckett, Executive Director of BAN, and Selena Turnock, Acting Certification Director of e-Stewards, in the e-Stewards booth at the 2023 ITAD Summit in Scottsdale, AZ.

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E-Scrap & E-Reuse Conference

September 18 – 20, 2023: New Orleans, LA



e-Stewards will be in attendance with a workshop and booth. Please stop by at and visit us at Booth #200 and come to our e-Stewards workshop on Monday, September 18 from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm in the Strand 11 presentation room. Jim will also be taking part in a panel entitled “Industry Evolution Around E-Plastics,” on Wednesday, September 20 from 10:30 – 11:30 am.