The EPA’s chief administrator, Lisa Jackson, has announced that the governing body would amp up efforts to prevent e-waste and move towards a more sustainable approach to the growing issue of electronic debris.
The move comes as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s top six global priorities that were recently announced. The others include carbon emissions, improving water quality, reducing toxic exposures, improving air quality and building stronger institutional framework. Ms Jackson’s comments were given when she spoke at the public reception launching the 17th Session of the Commission on Environmental Co-operation.
Jim Puckett, executive director for the Basel Action Network, said that the EPA and Lisa Jackson were treating toxic e-waste with the seriousness it deserved. He called the issue one of the most serious environmental concerns on the planet. Mr Puckett added that the amount of e-waste being created is staggering and that it had to be dealt with rather than shipping it off to developing countries.
According to BAN, the first step would be to pass legislation that will ban exporting all of the e-waste accumulated. Secondly, the organisation said that environmentalists needed to urge manufacturers to develop toxin free products within the sector.
These most recent announcements come in the wake of an official recognition on the EPA’s part of a certified e-waste firm, e-Stewards Certification for electronics recyclers. The certification will only be granted to recyclers that adhere to international law and forbids exporting the toxic waste to developing nations.
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