The Basel Action Network, the Seattle based nonprofit group that developed the e-Stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment®, has released a statement in response to that of Intercon Solutions’ lawyer, Cathy Pilkington, released July 29, 2011. Pilkington represents the Chicago Heights, Ill.-based electronics recycling company, which was denied certification to the e-Stewards standard because it was allegedly found shipping toxic materials overseas.
Jim Puckett, BAN executive director, states, “If Intercon Solutions is truly interested in BAN altering its position on allowing them into the e-Stewards program based on new evidence, one would have thought they would send us the new evidence. But as of today we have received no such information. Instead it would seem this entire petition action appears to be a play to the press in an attempt to muddy the waters. We predicted this would be the case earlier."
BAN says producing bills of lading showing other intermediary companies listed as shippers is common. “Such a bill of lading does not answer the question of the true shipper unfortunately,” BAN says in the statement. “Until such companies listed on a bill of lading are required, under oath and in a court of law, to explain why and how it was that they were able to move containers into and out of Intercon’s property without getting the blessing of Intercon, we will need to assume a plain reading of the evidence.”
The statement continues, “If we were to believe Intercon Solutions’ version of things, we would have to believe that completely unrelated companies were able to pass through Intercon’s NAID- (National Association for Information Destruction-) certified security systems, including locked fences and 24/7 high-security camera monitored boundaries, with large trucks containing 40-foot containers, drop the containers there and retrieve them later, without ever being questioned by Intercon Solutions, only to have them later be placed on railcars, sent to Long Beach and exported straight to China where authorities upon opening them found hazardous electronic waste. We would also need to understand why such companies would do that. Until such time this claim by Intercon remains well outside of bounds of credulity.”
BAN says it has the full backing of its leadership council on the matter, adding that the compamy “has not come close to reversing the large burden of evidence that Intercon Solutions was involved in exporting hazardous electronic waste in violation of the e-Stewards Standard.”
The statement also notes that Intercon has not otherwise passed the e-Stewards audit. “Neither have they passed BAN’s critical non-conformity policy nor have they passed the audit as can be confirmed by contacting their certifying body,” BAN states.
“We created the e-Stewards Initiative in large part to put an end to the all too common immoral and illegal practice of international trafficking in hazardous waste,” Puckett says. “The program is useless to everyone if it is not enforced fairly and vigorously and that is what we will do.”