ERI participates in 'Person in Port' program

Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), Fresno, California, hosted and helped train guests from around the world last week as part of the “Person in Port” program. The United Nations University (UNU), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Basel Convention Coordination Centre for Africa (BCCC) in Nigeria—each members of the Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) initiative—launched the program.

The StEP partners are teaming up with ERI to gather information and reliable data on Nigeria’s importing of used electronics and e-waste. Nigeria is one of the main countries in West Africa through which electronic waste flows.

The project focuses on identifying the types and amounts of e-waste imported; its functional status; how it is packaged, labeled and transported; its origin (exporting countries); and what will become of it once it arrives in Nigeria. Timing of the project is to be determined, ERI says.

To effectively prepare the analysts from the participating organizations, ERI hosted a series of educational training sessions, demonstrating best practices for the recycling of electronics, the company says.

“We were honored to provide the training for this important initiative,” says ERI Chairman and CEO John Shegerian. “The responsible recycling of electronics is an issue that knows no national borders in terms of importance. The planet’s increasing glut of electronic waste is a global problem that’s time for resolution is now. Properly disposing of electronic waste and the environmental hazards and digital privacy issues it presents has become the touchstone for a major industry with regional, national and international implications. It’s a rare privilege that ERI has partnered with the United Nations University, the EPA and the Basel Convention as an example of how to recycle electronics effectively, safely and in a sustainable manner.”

ERI claims it is the world’s largest privately held recycler of electronics. The company is e-Stewards and R2 (Responsible Recycling Practices) certified to demanufacture and recycle electronics. ERI says it processes more than 275 million pounds of electronic scrap annually at eight locations.