E-Stewards Digital Equity program to provide computer access to those in need

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The electronics recycling and refurbishment certification program developed by the Seattle-based Basel Action Network, e-Stewards, has revealed the e-Stewards Digital Equity (eDE) program. The program is designed to channel computer equipment from large corporations and institutions to needy individuals and communities across North America.

Despite the fact that education, jobs, job access and emergency services depend heavily on the internet and computing equipment, 1 in 5 persons in the United States still has no access to the internet, the organization says. Meanwhile, every year, thousands of working computers, printers and peripherals are removed from service and recycled.  

The new e-Stewards Digital Equity (eDE) program, scheduled to go live Jan. 1, 2018, will tap large corporate partners to donate working or repairable information technology (IT) equipment directly to e-Stewards Certified Refurbishers/Recyclers, who will refurbish them. The devices refurbished through this program will be sold to and deployed by city-led digital equity programs to provide digital access to low-income users at very low cost. “The e-Stewards program hopes to divert thousands of computers and peripherals each year via ethical refurbishment and get them into the hands of deserving students, families and organizations across North America,” the organization says in the press release announcing the initiative.

"Currently, far too many old computers, tablets, printers and monitors are being shredded or dumped overseas rather than refurbished and given a second or third life in the hands of people that need them the most," says Bob Akers, enterprise manager of the e-Stewards Electronics Recycling/Refurbishment Certification Program.

E-Stewards says, “By providing large enterprise companies with the assurance of careful management and refurbishment of their old equipment and an established, reputable channel to needy communities, the e-Stewards Digital Equity program will allow enterprise corporations to more easily engage in donating to ethical reuse for community good. E-Stewards Certification assures worker protections, data security [and] minimum specifications for tested and fully functional equipment, and prohibits the export of hazardous electronic scrap to developing countries.”

E-Stewards lists a number of benefits it says are associated with eDE:

• Cities benefit by having low-cost, high-quality equipment.
• Enterprises benefit from having their IT asset liabilities carefully managed while garnering excellent public relations.
• E-Stewards Refurbishers/Recyclers benefit by expanding their market to another realm of asset management services while building fruitful community relationships.
• The low-income recipient benefits by access to a new device experience at very low cost.
• The environment benefits by lowering the carbon and toxics footprint from information technology use by giving longer life to resource-intensive products.

"We are looking forward to participating in this program and being able to be a part of the very real human stories about improving lives in our community while protecting the global environment," says Reed Kaiser of the University of Phoenix.

"Seattle welcomes this new e-Stewards initiative," says Chance Hunt, Seattle community technology manager. "As we work to tackle the digital inequity problem, we often find that the demand for quality low-cost computing equipment exceeds the supply. This public-private partnership could greatly improve this situation."

"It is extremely rewarding to see how lives change for the individuals participating in our Digital Equity programs," says Neil Peters-Michaud, CEO of Cascade Asset Management, an e-Stewards Certified Refurbisher headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. "It's a win for our customers, our company and the community."

The current list of eDE partners includes The National Digital Inclusion Alliance; HUD ConnectHome; EveryoneOn; Seattle; San Francisco; Madison, Wisconsin; Kansas City, Missouri; Old National Bank; American Family Insurance; iFixIT; Mobile Citizen; and University of Phoenix.

The current list of e-Stewards Refurbisher eDE founders includes Apto Solutions, Blue Star Recyclers, Capitol Asset Recovery Inc., Cascade Asset Management, eGreen-IT Solutions, ERI, EPC Inc., Friendly Earth, Global eWaste Solutions Inc., Kuusakoski US LLC and Sage Sustainable Electronics LLC.

E-Stewards says it is actively enrolling interested cities, e-Stewards Certified Refurbishers/Recyclers and enterprise donors and service providers as eDE partners.