Don’t underestimate the positive impact your business can have.

Work with a responsible e-waste recycling company that issues a Certificate of Recycle.

CORRecycling, Inc. issues Certificates of Recycle

Electronic recycling also reduces the energy used in new product manufacturing.

Be part of the solution at home and at work.

Agbogbloshie won’t be solved quickly.

E-waste, defined as old consumer electronics.

The site poses an undeniable risk to air quality and human health.

Electronics waste being handled unsafely.

From Smithsonian magazine burning truth behind e-waste dump Africa

“It’s estimated that less than 12.5% of America’s e-waste is recycled.”
By: Szamor Williams

Staying well informed allows the savvy business owner to adapt to constantly changing markets while simultaneously preventing stagnation. Not being ahead of the curve and anticipating customer wants often leads to a significant loss of dollars. It goes without saying that having a keen awareness of the various aspects of your particular industry is a fundamental necessity if you hope for your business to create a profitable legacy with any degree of longevity.

In recent years, movements towards sustainability and eco-consciousness are becoming ever more the norm. It has become an increasingly fundamental and important element of most industries to monitor a business’ footprint. That means that there are new questions which must be asked in order to ensure maximized ROI and increased customer equity. As a business owner, finding ways to build commonality and rapport with customers fosters long-term trust and grants you significantly increased credibility. So, when is the last time that your business disposed of its e-waste and received a Certificate of Recycle?

Responsible recyclers issue Certificates of Recycle and responsible businesses work with responsible recyclers. Agbogbloshie, Ghana dubbed “Sodom and Gomorrah” by its inhabitants, is the world’s largest e-waste dump. According to Waste Utilization Manager Victor Shaffer, “Waste in Ghana contains more organic material than waste in Europe”. This makes sense when you consider that each year 100 of tons of e-waste is sent to Agbogbloshie from the United States, Western Europe, Asia, & Australia.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “A long-term approach towards electronics stewardship is necessary both at work and at home“. By working with responsible recyclers that issue Certificates of Recycle you can proudly acknowledge the impact you have not just locally but globally because irresponsible mismanagement of e-waste has lead to Agbogbloshie’s existence. According to Bennet Akuffu, of Green Advocacy Ghana, “The WHO [World Health Organization ] recommended level for lead in the soil is 400 parts per million we are getting a bit over 1,000, 2,000 dependent on where we sample.” This is nothing short of a humanitarian health crisis. In any Country there is a need for responsible electronic waste (e-waste) recycling and disposal.

By simply ensuring that your electronics are being handled by Recyclers who issue Certificates of Recycle you are aligning yourself with the interests of communities that care deeply about the environmental, humanitarian, and socio-economic impacts of e-waste management. The EPA ensures that “Certified electronics recyclers have demonstrated through audits and other means that they continually meet specific high environmental standards and safely manage used electronics. Once certified (CORRecycling is working twards Cerification now at the Electronics Recycling Center at 739 3rd Ave Grand Junction CO 8150, The Health, Saftey and Environment team expect the Certification in early 2017), continual oversight by the independent accredited certifying body holds the recycler to the particular standard”.

The EPA website goes on to note that “Increasing sustainable electronics management effores have a number of benefits including but not limited to creating green jobs, increasing the value of U.S. exports, supporting U.S. industries, and generally leading to, “more productive reuse of valuable materials”. By working with responsible recyclers who issue Certificates of Recycle you contribute to domestic recycling efforts which “reduce harm from exports of electronics waste (e-waste) being handled unsafely in developing countries, strengthen domestic and international markets for viable and functional used electronic products, and prevent health and environmental threats at home and abroad.”

As a business, by working closely with recycling companies which issue Certificates of Recycle your business has tangible proof that the old equipment is not contributing to the types of global catastrophe that currently exists in Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Responsible e-waste Recyclers who issue Certificates of Recycle position you to be part of a positive solution rather than an epidemic. All Businesses should protect their customer’s and employee’s privacy and the environment with electronic waste (e-waste) recycling and disposal. Not only can you take advantage generous tax incentives for donated e-waste materials but the EPA cites that recycling electronics also helps to, “reduce pollution that would be generated while manufacturing a new product and the need to extract valuable and limited virgin resources. Electronic recycling also reduces the energy used in new product manufacturing.”

Working with a responsible e-waste recycling company that issues a Certificate of Recycle shows a superior degree of dedication to the domestic economy and local economy.

Don’t underestimate the positive impact your business can have both internationally and within the community by simply being a part of a bigger solution. Working with a responsible e-waste recycling company that issues a Certificate of Recycle shows a superior degree of dedication to the domestic economy and local industry. At the same time, it makes you a part of a larger picture in which solutions to global injustices are being provided and implemented in ways that can elicit international change.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/revgeorge/470195828/

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/335609090/

Agbogbloshie. (2014). Photograph. Retrieved on October 14, 2016
https://www.flickr.com/photos/qampnet/14837858665/

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Zafrilla. Agbogbloshie. (2013). Photograph. Retrieved on October 14, 2016
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