I’ve written in the past about not throwing e-waste away, but I wanted to share with you the progress being made on the next crucial step in the e-waste stream – responsible recycling. While many electronics recyclers will gladly take your old and broken electronics, what they do with them then can lead to the same environmental disaster in another country that we want to avoid here. The economics of e-waste means that the recyclers can make more money selling the waste to international traders than by processing the waste here in the US.

The problem is, these international traders then send the waste to third world countries. Once it has arrived, the waste is “processed” by people paid very little money with no protection from the many hazards involved, and toxic components are discarded in huge trash pits that contaminate ground water. Children burn bundles of old cables to remove the insulation and recover the copper inside, releasing toxic fumes and creating toxic ash. Old CRT monitors are broken open, releasing phosphorus into the air and breaking leaded glass into small chunks. Whenever it rains, heavy metals and toxins are washed into rivers and the soil, contaminating drinking water and food grown in the area. China, India, and the poorest African nations have thriving e-waste economies, but lack the infrastructure or regulation to properly process the waste without hurting the environment or the workers.

It’s an ugly situation. However, change is happening. Internationally, many developed nations have signed onto agreements like the Basel Convention and the Basel Ban Amendment, which prohibit the transport of hazardous waste to less developed countries. In the US, members of Congress introduced in 2013 the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (RERA), which “prohibits the export of “restricted electronic waste” from the U.S. to countries that are not members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the European Union (EU).” The legislation would also strengthen the US recycling industry and fund research on heavy metal and rare earths reclamation from e-waste.

Many electronics manufacturers and waste management companies support RERA, and Dell became the first in the industry to ban the export of nonworking electronics and e-waste to developing countries in 2009. Prior to this effort, private groups organized to certify domestic US recyclers as using responsible methods and not exporting the waste. The R2 program is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and is overseen by a coalition of industry and trade groups. The e-Stewards Initiative is organized by the Basel Action Network, a US group committed to raising awareness of the e-waste crisis. The Electronics Takeback Coalition supports not only Responsible Recycling, but also responsible design of electronics, so that e-waste is both less toxic and less common.

I was alarmed when I first read about the environmental legacy of e-waste, but knowing there are responsible options in my region is a great first step to doing the right thing. Both the R2 and the e-Stewards websites allow you to locate certified recyclers in your area. I urge you to consult these sites the next time you need to dispose of e-waste, or find out which firm is used for the next municipal e-waste collection day.