Pennsylvania Resources Council Signs on as an e-Stewards® Enterprise
PA’s oldest grassroots environmental organization recognized for commitment to safely, ethically, and responsibly recycling e-waste
The Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC) has further committed to the safe, ethical and responsible recycling of electronic waste through recognition by the Basel Action Network (BAN) as an eStewards® Enterprise. The designation recognizes cities, companies and nonprofits that take concrete measures to eliminate the export of hazardous electronic waste (ewaste) to developing countries by using Certified eStewards Recyclers to manage their electronic waste.
The eStewards standard protects against ewaste dumping in landfills, processing by prisoners, and the export of hazardous ewaste to developing countries. It also ensures worker protection and strict rules for the security of private data stored in electronics.
“PRC joins companies such as Alcoa, Boeing and Samsung – along with the National Resource Defense Council, numerous municipal governments and other environmental stewards – as a committed partner ensuring we continue to doing everything we can to responsibly manage electronic waste,” said PRC Co-Director Justin Stockdale. “The public can feel confident that their material and data is being safely, ethically, and responsibly recycled when dealing with PRC.”
Throughout the past 15 years, PRC “hard-to-recycle” collection events have enabled 23,000+ residents to recycle nearly 2,000,000 pounds of electronics, 8,800 tires, 2,400 Freon-containing appliances along with cell phones, polystyrene, compact fluorescent bulbs, alkaline batteries and other materials not accepted for curbside refuse collection.
“PRC is committed to the highest environmental and social standards related to our electronic waste collection programs by working solely with eStewards Certified recyclers,” according to Stockdale. “For the past decade, PRC has worked with a certified e-Steward – eLoop llc, an Export, Pa.-based e-waste recycler – to ensure all materials recycled are managed in the most environmentally and socially responsible manner available.”
The eStewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment remains North America’s most rigorous standard for electronics recycling.
“The e-Stewards designation recognizes organizations that take concrete measures to properly handle electronic waste, and its rigorous standards evaluate our operations, systems and people from top to bottom to demonstrate conformance to the highest standard for responsibility in the industry,” said Stockdale. “Until recently, the e-Stewards Enterprise model solely recognized corporations and local governments, but PRC is proud to become one of the first nonprofits to receive e-Stewards certification under the recently expanded program.”
About eStewards® Certification The eStewards® Initiative is a marketbased solution to help individuals and organizations identify and promote those electronics recyclers that ensure that used electronics are managed with the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility. eStewards Certified Recyclers are audited and certified to ensure highest levels of responsibility and eStewards Enterprises are major corporations, municipalities or institutions that agree to make best efforts to make use of eStewards Certified Recyclers. For more information about the eStewards Initiative visit: www.eStewards.org.