by Shane Henson — March 2, 2012—The Basel Action Network (BAN), an organization focused on confronting the global environmental injustice and economic inefficiency of toxic trade, including toxic wastes, products and technologies, has announced that the city and county of San Francisco have achieved the status of “e-Stewards Enterprise.”
The designation, created by BAN, recognizes cities, counties and companies that take concrete measures to eliminate the export of hazardous electronic waste (e-waste) to developing countries by using Certified e-Stewards Recyclers to manage their electronic waste.
San Francisco joins the e-Stewards Enterprise program current members, including Wells Fargo, Nestlé, Bloomberg News, Capital One, Samsung, Bank of America, Alcoa Aluminum and LG. They also join King County, the seat of Seattle and Bellevue in Washington State, Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose, home to the Silicon Valley.
E-waste is the world’s fastest growing pollution problem, says BAN. According to Time Magazine, Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers every day. Approximately 80 percent of electronic waste currently delivered to recyclers is actually exported to developing countries. Improperly disposed of, the lead, mercury and other toxic materials inside e-waste poison workers and pollute communities.
