Zero Waste Humboldt: Basel Action Network

Margaret Gainer and Gifford Hall

“E-waste” is the common term for unwanted, not working, outdated or otherwise discarded electronic products such as cell phones, computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines that contain electrical or electronic components. In our digital age of mass electronics, the amount of e-waste is dramatically increasing. The Global E-Waste Statistics Partnership estimates that nearly 10 million tons of waste electrical and electronic equipment are thrown away by Americans each year, with a low recycling rate of around 15%. Why is this important? E-waste contains chemicals that are harmful to people and the environment, such as: mercury, lead, beryllium, brominated flame retardants, and cadmium. When electronics are mishandled during disposal, these chemicals end up in our soil, water, and air. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the cadmium, lead and other metals in e-waste account for nearly 70% of toxic materials in landfills.

Without a strong national program for safe-handling and recycling of e-waste, the U.S.’s fragmented system for handling and recycling e-waste varies from state to state and a large amount of the e-waste generated ends up in landfills or is illegally shipped to countries in Asia, with some of the largest destinations in the Philippines, China, and India. This has become a significant humanitarian and environmental problem.

E-Waste Watchdog

A leader in working to heighten awareness about the severity of this problem is the watchdog group, the Basel Action Network (BAN) in Seattle, Washington. BAN is named after the Basel Convention, a 1989 United Nations treaty designed to control and prevent the dumping of toxic wastes, particularly on developing countries. BAN has been advocating for sustainable and humanitarian solutions for the disposal of hazardous waste and e-waste. Using GPS trackers, the Basel Action Network regularly monitors U.S. electronics recyclers and take-back programs for illegal and unsustainable toxic waste export practices. For example, in 2020, they discovered four of six electronic waste LCDs were exported to a developing country following a donation to the Dell/Goodwill partnership known as Dell Reconnect. The latest export of four monitors from a Washington D.C. Goodwill store via the global used textile trading company, Whitehouse & Schapiro, LLC, to Guatemala represents the third time BAN has found the Dell/Goodwill Reconnect program exporting e-waste in likely violation of the importing country’s laws and Dell’s own corporate policy. Under the Basel Convention, it is illegal for Guatemala to receive any hazardous wastes such as electronic waste from the United States.

What can you do?

Do not toss your small electronic devices into the trash. The Humboldt Waste Management Authority collects e-waste at no cost to residents at several locations throughout the county. They charge $2.00 each for televisions and monitors. Other electronic waste (microwaves, computer towers, keyboards, mice, cell phones, VCRs/DVDs, stereos excluding speakers, electronic ballasts) may be dropped off at no charge to residents, and $0.05 per pound for businesses. Other e-waste drop-off locations include Humboldt Sanitation – 707-839-3285, Staples – 707-269-0196, Recology Eel River - 707-725-5156, and Redway Transfer Station 707-923-3944. Fees vary, so call in advance. Always ask about where your electronic waste is going after drop off, and what will happen to it.