Apto Solutions provides youth with new opportunities

Apto Solutions, an e-Stewards certified recycler headquartered in Atlanta, has partnered with Marietta City Schools in its MPower program for 18 to 22 years old students with disabilities, “Marietta Promoting Opportunities for Work Experiences in the Real World.” The partners modeled their program on a similar one developed by Blue Star Recyclers with the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, Colorado, and it aims to prepare students for employment with both hard skills (i.e., working with new tools, following a step-by-step process, abiding by safety rules, and sorting and preparing materials for recycling) and soft skills (i.e., teamwork, interpersonal skills, taking initiative, critical thinking, and time management). Currently, there are six students enrolled in the program, and they are learning to safely dismantle used electronic devices, which are then sent to the company for recycling. 

Photo Credit: Marietta City Schools

Apto Solutions is an alumnus of ADVANCE+, an inclusive workforce development program for certified electronics recyclers in the United States, which has trained eight electronics recyclers at 11 locations across the country, resulting in the permanent and competitive employment of 51 people with disabilities.

“With training through e-Stewards and the partnership with Marietta, the MPower program is an important step in building a bright future for these young people,” says Greg Wolfe, Director of Operations, Apto Solutions, Georgia. “We hope more companies and industries share their workplace skills through this program so that these young people can look toward their futures with a passion.”

To learn more about the ADVANCE+ program, watch this short film.

Two new recyclers join e-Stewards ranks

CompuCycle Inc. and evTerra Recycling have achieved e-Stewards certification in recent weeks, adding five new locations to the e-Stewards map.

evTerra Recycling has achieved e-Stewards certification at its headquarters in Atlanta and its locations in Chicago and Las Vegas. A subsidiary of Igneo Technologies, evTerra has rapidly expanded since its first location opened 15 months ago, now boasting three certified processing facilities and a fourth location in San Antonio, TX, set to open in May. evTerra's meteoric rise has shown them to be a major new player in the electronics recycling sector. Earlier this year, Korea Zinc, a non-ferrous metals giant, acquired the remaining shares of Igneo, evTerra’s parent company, after purchasing a majority stake in July 2022. With this acquisition, they created an international e-scrap entity that can control material from collection through to final smelting. evTerra uniquely concentrates on low- and mid-grade electronic consumer electronics that are most at risk of disposal, like printers, household appliances, toys, flat-panel TVs, and other items containing circuit boards. They will source, collect, and prepare these materials for pyrolysis facilities operated by Igneo, which in turn will supply the recovered copper to other Korea Zinc subsidiaries. Through their focus on these lower tiers of electronics, evTerra hopes to provide more value to nonprofit organizations like Goodwill, as well as corporations and governments, and prevent more valuable materials from ending up in landfills.

CompuCycle Inc. is the first woman-owned electronics processing company in Houston, Texas, and one of a growing regional footprint of e-Stewards Certified electronics recyclers in the Lone Star State. e-Stewards Certified Recyclers uniquely ensure that hazardous scrap materials are never exported to developing countries and all personal or business data left on electronic media is sanitized. Boasting over 25 years of e-cycling experience, CompuCycle has innovated their processes to become a one-stop shop for their clients by collecting, refurbishing and processing all assets without additional downstream processors. CompuCycle's values align seamlessly with the e-Stewards Standard and Certification launched in 2009 by Basel Action Network, an environmental nonprofit group dedicated to championing global health by ending toxic proliferation and trade. The e-Stewards Standard, in turn, aligns with international laws that prevent the dumping of toxic wastes and problematic plastic wastes, while remaining responsive and flexible to the newest innovations in the industry. In addition to being a certified Women’s Business Enterprise, CompuCycle stands out as a full-service processor, with the ability to sort and process all materials in-house. Most notably, their new plastics plant uses a sink-float system to wash and separate the different plastic polymers found in electronic scrap by density.

Continuing from the last edition, e-Stewards wants to introduce two more of its newest Leadership Council members. Tom Delahunty is Group President and COO of Wisetek Solutions, an Irish Headquartered company offering customers ITAD and Manufacturing Services from its eight locations across the world. Tom strongly believes in working with all industry stakeholders to create solutions that ensure all electronics leave a positive impact on our environment. His passion for the reuse of electronics and extensive experience in electronic design and manufacture has led to Tom creating innovative circular economy solutions since joining Wisetek in 2008. Tom holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Manufacturing Technology from the University of Limerick Ireland.

Mark Newton is head of regulatory and environmental affairs for Samsung Electronics America. Prior to joining Samsung, Mark was the vice president at VF Corporation directing environmental stewardship, global human rights and community engagement for iconic outdoor brands including Timberland, The North Face, and Vans. Previously he led CSR at Dell, Apple and Motorola, achieving top rankings for sustainability and environmental performance. Mark also previously served on numerous advisory boards including for the National Academies of Science, SC Johnson Foundation, and the World Resources Institute. Mark holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Texas.

Two recent e-Stewards Standard updates

e-Stewards recently announced two updates to the e-Stewards program. Following the recent end of the voting and comment period, the proposed Sanctioned Interpretation language regarding the removal of battery load testing requirements in all cases where a smart chip read could be accurately and successfully performed on mobile computing devices has been approved. This language is now included as a formal Sanctioned Interpretation to the e-Stewards Standard v4.1. Details and specific language can be found on the updated e-Stewards website located here.

Additionally, the e-Stewards Standard Committee has now formalized the updated Guidance Document for v4.1. This document is provided by e-Stewards as interpretive guidance to the e-Stewards Standard and does not create additional binding requirements. It offers clarification regarding the intent and purpose of individual sections of the Standard, as well as recommendations and information to assist with implementation. It is designed to be a living document with new information being added on an as-useful basis. Any stakeholder can contact e-Stewards at any time and request additional guidance on any subject, and request that guidance be considered for acceptance into this document to help future e-Stewards Certified Processors.

To access the latest guidance document and additional Standard resources, visit the e-Stewards website here. To submit any requests for clarification or guidance or for any additional questions regarding this announcement, please contact Selena Turnock, Acting Certification Director, at selena@e-stewards.org.

Some state electronics laws falter, others progress

Following New York state’s passage of the first U.S. right-to-repair bill for electronics last year, several states continue their push to pass their own right-to-repair laws and other electronics bills with mixed success. In Washington, the Fair Repair Act stalled in Senate committee, ending its legislative journey. However, during the process, Microsoft expressed its support for the bill, and, while ultimately not enough to win its passage, that alone is a step forward for the movement as a whole. In Oregon, SB542, another right-to-repair bill, did pass out of committee, despite pushback from the video game industry. Also in Oregon, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill updating its 14-year-old electronics collection and processing program, which would add new covered devices to the program and set out new geographic and population density-related requirements for collection sites. Senators in Alaska have introduced the Digital Right to Repair Act, and its purview is similar to bills in other states..

Tsunami of pandemic-purchased Chromebooks

A new report by U.S. PIRG Education Fund has found that Google Chromebooks purchased just three years ago are already breaking, causing an enormous e-waste surge following huge purchases of these relatively inexpensive laptops by schools during the Covid pandemic. Students’ rough use of the equipment has highlighted the lack of repairability of these devices, with replacement parts either prohibitively expensive or out of stock. The devices also have built-in “death dates,” after which Google will no longer release software updates. While the company provides eight years of updates, many schools bought devices released several years prior, so their update lifetime will be much shorter than that. The group states that doubling the lifespan of the roughly 31.8 million Chromebooks sold in 2020 could cut carbon emissions equal to 900,000 cars per year and save schools nationwide $1.8 billion.

Report from the Basel Convention

Basel Action Network's Executive Director Jim Puckett has just returned from Geneva, where the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention met last week. He reports the highlights related to electronics recycling as follows:

• The Parties adopted an updated Technical Guidelines on Transboundary Movements of Electrical and Electronic waste and Used Electrical and Electronic Equipment to include the most recent amendments defining Hazardous Electronic Waste (A1181) and all other Electronic Waste (Y49) that were adopted at COP15 as part of the so-called Swiss-Ghana proposal. These amendments go into effect on January 1, 2025, and will make all electronic waste subject to the control of the Basel Convention trade controls. For more information on the Amendment, see the e-Stewards webinar here. The Guideline, while updated, is still considered accepted only on an interim basis due to the long-standing controversy created in Paragraph 32b, which allows exports for electronic equipment repair to fall outside of the Convention as long as certain criteria are met. BAN and many countries continue to hold strong disagreement to allowing claims of repair to provide an avenue for unscrupulous actors to escape the Basel Convention when non-functional, hazardous wastes are concerned. For more on that subject, click here.

• The Parties adopted the Technical Guidelines on the Environmentally Sound Management of Plastic Waste after much rancor and controversy, primarily due to efforts by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to try to weaken sections on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Waste Prevention and to promote the section on Chemical Recycling. In the end, most of KSA's efforts were rebuffed, and the entire section on Chemical Recycling appears both in the text and in an appendix in square brackets, which means it is undecided and will need further work. The African Group, other countries, and Environmental Organizations fought to exclude Chemical Recycling from the Guidelines due to the doubt as to whether such recycling was considered Environmentally Sound or not. This remains contentious and likely will be for some time.

• The momentum to improve the Prior-Informed-Consent Procedure continued. The Parties convened a Small Intercessional Working Group on the issue, and the Information Technology Industry Association debuted its interactive online digital version of the procedure they are calling e-PIC. BAN strongly supports the e-PIC effort by industry.

• Work continued on the development of Technical Guidelines on the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste Batteries other than Waste Lead-acid Batteries, which will include Lithium-ion batteries with the development of a table of contents. Work in earnest on this Guideline is not expected to get fully underway until the Lead-acid Battery Guideline is adopted.



Note: Basel links above are not edited, and thus not official.  

e-Stewards Standard Tip



Performance Verification: The Performance Verification program, as part of the e-Stewards Standard, includes both unannounced inspections as well as deployment of state-of-the-art GPS trackers within the e-Stewards community for verification of proper management of end-of-life electronic equipment. This e-Stewards-specific program helps to provide the highest levels of standard conformity in the industry.

As a requirement of the Standard, all e-Stewards certified processors must ensure they have created and implemented a documented plan addressing the management commitment to and cooperation with any unannounced inspections performed by e-Stewards employed inspectors. Some key features to include for a successful Performance Verification plan include, but are not limited to:



• Assignment of primary and back-up contacts for the Organization
• Beginning the inspection within 15 minutes of the inspector’s arrival
• Permission for inspectors to access all areas under the scope of the EMS
• Acknowledgement that there may be disruptions in production or that in-process or finished materials may be sampled
• Agreement to contact e-Stewards within 1 business day if/when a GPS tracker is discovered

Additional guidance has been created for this section of the Standard, with a checklist on What to Expect from an e-Stewards PV Audit. Additionally, it is recommended that any e-Stewards processor that is chosen for an unannounced inspection verify the credentials of the inspector upon arrival. Current inspector information can be found on the e-Stewards website here.

Lastly, e-Stewards should be notified promptly regarding any regulation that precludes full accommodation of the unannounced inspection. The restriction should also be included on the Organization’s compliance obligation list.

If there are any questions regarding the e-Stewards Performance Verification program, or if you wish to provide evidence that unannounced inspections are restricted due to regulations, please contact Selena Turnock at selena@e-stewards.org.

Featured Interview

In this recent interview with Waste360, Todd Zegers, president and CEO of Circular Integrity, an e-Stewards Enterprise, discusses what changes he has seen in the electronics recycling world in the past 20 years and what he believes is coming.

Featured Video

Above the Noise: The Surprising Fate of Our Trashed Electronics

Watch this awesome new video by PBS's Above the Noise, featuring BAN's Jim Puckett, who discusses the e-waste problem and why e-Stewards certified recyclers are the best option for recycling your electronics. Thanks, host Myles Bess and KQED for this informative, fun, and well-produced video, and a shout-out to John Shegerian for his part as well!

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