U.S. EPA Implementation Study of the Electronics Recycling ...

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EPA 530-R-16-008

February 2016

Implementation Study of the

Electronics Recycling Standards:

R2 and e-Stewards?

Prepared by:

United States Environmental Protection Agency,

Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery

and

Abt Associates, Inc. under EPA contract number: EP-W-10-054

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Disclaimer

This document was prepared by the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR), U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Abt. Associates, Inc. under contract number EP-W-10054. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations do not change or substitute for any

statutory or regulatory provisions. This document does not impose legally binding requirements, nor

does it confer legal rights, impose legal obligations, or implement any statutory or regulatory provisions.

Mention of trade names, businesses or organizations, or commercial products is not intended to

constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. This document is being made available to the public.

Any questions or comments concerning this document should be addressed to Nicole L. Villamizar, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, 1200 Pennsylvania

Ave. N.W., MC 5306P, Washington, DC 20460 (email:Villamizar.Nicole@).

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Acknowledgements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would like to acknowledge the following organizations and

individuals for their substantial contributions to this document:

This study would not have been possible without the voluntary participation of the Standards owners ¨C the Basel

Action Network and Sustainable Electronics Recycling International; the ANSI/ASQ National Accreditation Board;

the Certifying Bodies - NSF International Strategic Registrations (NSF-ISR), Orion Registrar, Inc., Perry Johnson

Registrars, Inc., SAI Global, SGS, T?V S?D America - and the electronics recycling facilities who agreed to

participate in this study.

The support team for this project was comprised of: Shanika Amarakoon, of Abt Associates, Inc.; Anne Peters, of

Gracestone, Inc; Nicole Delich, Kelley Keogh, Bob McCarthy, and Emily Farrant, of Greeneye Partners, LLC; and

Libby Chaplin, of Arcadian Solutions, LLC.

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Table of Contents

List of Acronyms..................................................................................................................................................... vi

Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................. viii

Executive Summary..................................................................................................................................................1

1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................10

1.1. Background...........................................................................................................................................10

1.2. Study Purpose and Design ....................................................................................................................13

1.3. Study Limitations .................................................................................................................................16

2. Study Findings ................................................................................................................................................17

2.1. System Requirements ...........................................................................................................................17

2.2.

System Planning ...................................................................................................................................18

2.3. Training and Communication ...............................................................................................................19

2.4. Operational Controls.............................................................................................................................21

2.5. Health and Safety .................................................................................................................................22

2.6.

Reuse ....................................................................................................................................................25

2.7.

Data Security/Data Destruction ............................................................................................................26

2.8.

Management of Focus Materials, Hazardous Electronic Waste, and Problematic Components and

Materials ...............................................................................................................................................27

2.9.

Emergency Preparedness and Response...............................................................................................28

2.10. Materials Recovery and Disposition .....................................................................................................29

2.11. Export Restrictions for Focus Materials and Hazardous Electronic Waste...........................................30

2.12. Site Closure and Insurance ....................................................................................................................32

2.13. Downstream Accountability .................................................................................................................33

2.14. Monitoring and Measurement ...............................................................................................................34

2.15. Tracking ................................................................................................................................................35

2.16. Evaluation of Compliance .....................................................................................................................36

2.17. Nonconformity, Corrective, and Preventive Action ..............................................................................37

2.18. Control of Records ................................................................................................................................38

2.19. Internal Audit ........................................................................................................................................38

2.20. Management Review.............................................................................................................................39

2.21. Additional Findings from Stakeholder Interviews ................................................................................40

3. Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................41

3.1. Key System Strengths...........................................................................................................................42

3.2. Key Opportunities for Improvement ....................................................................................................43

4. Suggested Strategies for Improvement & Top Recommendations ............................................................45

5. Conclusions .....................................................................................................................................................47

Appendix A. Compilation of Suggested Strategies for Improvement by Topic Area ...................................49

Appendix B: Audit Observation Checklist .......................................................................................................55

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