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VANCOUVER COMPUTER RECYCLER SAYS: ILLEGAL CANADIAN E-WASTE DUMPING "NO SURPRISE"
FREE GEEK VANCOUVER CALLS ILLEGAL CANADIAN E-WASTE DUMPING "NO SURPRISE"
Exporting continues while Canada turns a "blind eye"
Exporting continues while Canada turns a "blind eye"
A recent CBC news exposé has identified two Metro Vancouver-based recyclers as toxic electronic waste exporters. Futher, it goes on to underscore a lack of enforcement by Canadian authorities.
The report was partly based on evidence submitted by the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) and the Basel Action Network (BAN), a global watchdog group working to stop the dumping of toxic wastes in developing countries.
BAN contends that the Canadian government is not upholding its international obligations to control transnational exports of this waste. Up to 80% of Canadian "e-waste" is shipped overseas, often being dumped or burned, and contaminating communities hosting crude 'dirty scrapping' operations.
According to BAN's research, spanning back to 2001, unscrupulous Canadian recyclers continue to export hazardous e-waste to poor, often rural destinations in China, Nigeria, Ghana and other non-OECD countries. And there is precious little pressure on them to stop.
"Canada claims to be a good global citizen, but when it comes to efforts to stem the tide of toxic waste, they are one of the worst players on the global stage," said BAN coordinator Jim Puckett. According to BAN, Canada has historically tried to undermine the Basel Convention's attempt to ban the toxic waste exports from rich to poor countries. "Now we find they are turning a blind eye to illegal shipments of hazardous e-waste - even to countries that have specifically banned their importation," Puckett said in a recent press release.
Canada is a signatory to the Basel Convention, created in 1994 at the request of governments in the developing world. Poorer nations lack the resources to provide adequate environmental or worker protections, and have difficulty curtailing abuses by determined smugglers and toxic waste brokers. Entire communities have become trapped in crude and dirty scrapping operations, often leaving citizens with few options, as contaminated farmland and waterways fail to support more traditional employment.
Canada has long been a major illegal exporter of hazardous wastes, with smugglers and brokers outpacing enforcement officials. In 2006, during Canada's only enforcement effort to date, federal agencies seized 50 containers with 500,000 kg of ewaste at the Port of Vancouver; 27 Canadian companies settled out of court for about $2000 apiece; Ottawa still refuses to release their names. [read story]
In the words of CBC's Patrick Brown, "If dumping ewaste were an Olympic sport, Canada would win a silver medal. The United States gets the gold." While Canada has traditionally been disinterested, the United States goes one better by refusing to ratify the Basel Convention.
"It's high time Canada stop aiding its electronics industry at the expense of developing countries or at the expense of local communities," said Helen Spiegelman, SPEC Vice-President. "If companies in Europe can agree to this, then why can't Canada?"
BAN contends that the Canadian government is not upholding its international obligations to control transnational exports of this waste. Up to 80% of Canadian "e-waste" is shipped overseas, often being dumped or burned, and contaminating communities hosting crude 'dirty scrapping' operations. According to BAN's research, spanning back to 2001, unscrupulous Canadian recyclers continue to export hazardous e-waste to poor, often rural destinations in China, Nigeria, Ghana and other non-OECD countries. And there is precious little pressure on them to stop.
"Canada claims to be a good global citizen, but when it comes to efforts to stem the tide of toxic waste, they are one of the worst players on the global stage," said BAN coordinator Jim Puckett. According to BAN, Canada has historically tried to undermine the Basel Convention's attempt to ban the toxic waste exports from rich to poor countries. "Now we find they are turning a blind eye to illegal shipments of hazardous e-waste - even to countries that have specifically banned their importation," Puckett said in a recent press release.
Canada is a signatory to the Basel Convention, created in 1994 at the request of governments in the developing world. Poorer nations lack the resources to provide adequate environmental or worker protections, and have difficulty curtailing abuses by determined smugglers and toxic waste brokers. Entire communities have become trapped in crude and dirty scrapping operations, often leaving citizens with few options, as contaminated farmland and waterways fail to support more traditional employment.
Canada has long been a major illegal exporter of hazardous wastes, with smugglers and brokers outpacing enforcement officials. In 2006, during Canada's only enforcement effort to date, federal agencies seized 50 containers with 500,000 kg of ewaste at the Port of Vancouver; 27 Canadian companies settled out of court for about $2000 apiece; Ottawa still refuses to release their names. [read story]
In the words of CBC's Patrick Brown, "If dumping ewaste were an Olympic sport, Canada would win a silver medal. The United States gets the gold." While Canada has traditionally been disinterested, the United States goes one better by refusing to ratify the Basel Convention.
"It's high time Canada stop aiding its electronics industry at the expense of developing countries or at the expense of local communities," said Helen Spiegelman, SPEC Vice-President. "If companies in Europe can agree to this, then why can't Canada?"
Open burning of plastics and other material is common in order to reduce the waste to metals. Guiyu, China. ©Basel Action Network 2006
'TOO CLOSE TO HOME'
Both recyclers mentioned in the CBC documentary are based in Metro Vancouver, and are members of the Recycling Council of British Columbia. They are also considerably well-established.
Technotrash, one of the recyclers, is an approved member of the Western Canada Computer Industry Association (WCCIA). Ironically, the WCCIA was granted permission in 2007 by the provincial government to develop a Environmental Stewardship plan. As a "primary recycler," Technotrash was reportedly audited by the WCCIA, and provides collection to the Vancouver Island Region, Nanaimo, the Okanagan, Kelowna and the Lower Mainland Region under the stewardship plan.
However, the CBC exposé came as no surprise to computer recycler Free Geek Vancouver.
"We never sent computer scrap to those recyclers [in the report], and we never would, because they wouldn't reveal where they send their materials," said Ifny Lachance, one of the founders of Free Geek Vancouver. "We assume the worst when recyclers are secretive, or haven't been vouched for by environmental organisations. Seeing a report like this is grimly satisfying in that regard."
Free Geek Vancouver's ethical recycling policies prevent it from doing business with recyclers who are not fully transparent, or who do not act in full accordance with the Basel Convention. The non-profit maintains a full list of its downstream recyclers on its website, including contact information. It also keeps its mailing lists and archives open to the public, and offers regular tours of its facility. Its educational mandate involves engaging volunteers in the recycling and refurbishing process; at the same time, it shares its research and information resources, so that others can make informed decisions about what to with their unwanted computers.
Lachance points out that due to the lack of enforcement, it is difficult to know who to trust. "ISO certification or membership in business associations doesn't guarantee responsible recycling practices. Pretty websites don't mean much either," she said. "Asking questions is definitely good. Demanding full transparency is even better. But even if they tell you where they send their scrap, you still can't be sure. Maybe they're lying, or haven't even bothered to find out where the end of the line really is. Bad behaviour is rewarded by huge profits, so there's little incentive for them to care."
Lachance says that people should even be skeptical of nonprofit operations, and recommends confirming that companies are endorsed by reputable enviromental organisations before giving up their unwanted hardware. In order to collect equipment and export more easily, smugglers sometimes claim that equipment will be donated to the poor. "It's frustrating, because they're not helping the poor, they're helping themselves, regardless of the environmental and human costs. Recyclers should be considered guilty until proven innocent."
Even when companies are caught, it is common practice to change names and open a new operation with none the wiser. Two days after the CBC expose aired, the website for the other investigated recycler, Electronics Recycling Canada, was no longer available.
Laborer heating aqua regia -- a mixture of 5% pure nitric acid and 75% pure hydrochloric acid -- a mixture that will dissolve gold. Without any respiratory protection workers inhale acid fumes, chlorine and sulphur dioxide gas all day as they swirl computer chips removed from circuit boards in acid to collect tiny amounts of gold. The sludges from the process are dumped directly into the river. Guiyu, China. December 2001. © Basel Action Network 2006
'EVERYONE'S PROBLEM'
While consumers have become increasingly aware that landfilling electronics is not environmentally responsible, there is still a sore lack of information available to help them avoid operations that export illegally. As early as 2001, BAN began retrieving identification tags from equipment belonging to the Department of National Defence, a Vancouver office of Air Canada, and others from scrappers in China.
The devastating effects on public health are not limited to far-away destinations, as toxic by-products spread through the biosphere and return to Canada. Increasingly, studies are revealing that many materials in computer equipment, including lead, mercury and cadmium, accumulate in the biosphere and travel the globe. Human beings, at the top of the food chain, receive the worst of it.
For example, a 2004 study by the Sightline Institute revealed that women off the coast of Puget Sound have the highest level of toxic flame retardants in their breastmilk ever recorded. The levels were over 20 to 40 times higher than those found in European and Japanese women. These flame retardants, close relatives to PCBs, are impregnated in computer plastic and other household items. Health impacts include anemia, cancer, thyroid disruption and memory loss. New research by Monica Danon-Schaffer in northern Canadian landfills has found disturbing levels of these same chemicals.
'THE SILVER LINING'
Lachance says it is not all bad news. "Ten years ago, there were no good options, but now you can find solutions in more areas," she remarked. "We had to start one ourselves in Vancouver, but we're starting to feel less lonely," she said, referring to emerging alliances between businesses, environmental organisations, and the public.
In sharp contrast to other recyclers, Free Geek is community-run; it encourages citizens to get involved in its day-to-day operations and decisions. In addition to its ethical policies, it further distinguished itself this spring by becoming the second recycler in Canada to qualify as an "e-Steward," an initiative designed by the Basel Action Network. E-Stewards uphold what is considered the most rigourous international standard for social and environmental responsibility in the world, called the Electronic Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship. Part of the e-Steward qualification process involved BAN verifying that Free Geek Vancouver actually sends their materials to downstream recyclers as claimed.
Free Geek Vancouver was founded in November 2006 as a community technology centre. Its volunteers pitch in to help test, refurbish or dismantle unwanted computer equipment donated by the public. Free computers are distributed to volunteers and other non-profits; Free Geek supports its activities through computer thrift store and recycling revenue.
Emphasizing the need for participation, she said, "Find out where your company recycles, and your neighbours. Ask questions, support the good guys. The media is catching on, and that will make government feel the heat. If we all work together to keep up the pressure, the bad guys will run out of places to hide. We'll all be healthier for it in the end."
Ifny Lachance is a coordinator at Free Geek Vancouver. For more information on ewaste issues, or to arrange an interview, please visit the media contact page.
