Recycling Export Reform Group Unveils New E-Certification Process

The World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association has introduced a new electronic certification program. The program is, at www.wr3a.org,  will make that task a little easier for some people.

The program is being written by a non-profit "fair trade" export reform group, active in electronics recycling issues.

The program is based on the transaction, not the user or the destination. WR3A president Robin Ingenthron explains, "USDA certifies beef, not the butcher. EPA certifies that water is clean, it does not declare a company a 'clean water producer'. WR3A is trying to focus on which materials are easy to donate, and which require the expertise of an insured company with capacity to process lead and other chemicals."

WR3A's e-certification program asks generators and recyclers a number of questions about their material and their goals, and then tries to match the bidders with an appropriate list of service providers, much like an online dating service.

The beauty of e-certification program, according to WR3A, is that it allows experts to play a greater role in the certification of individual materials or areas of expertise. Donating Pentium III computers to a school? You should worry about the hard drive being cleaned, how the software will be legally installed, and the certification process should be monitored by a reputable Digital Divide organization. Holding a one-day recycling event for computers? The recycler should be able to document how they manage both the good AND the junk ones. Bidding out a curbside recycling program, collecting junk TVs from doorsteps every week (like New England cities Boston, Worcester, Cambridge, Springfield, Brockton, etc.)? Better spend the time to make sure the recycler can handle that amount of material, and buys the right insurance.

Other certification programs are also being offered. Those programs offer a "black and white" list of recyclers, whether for broken mercury switch gear or for a working Pentium 4 laptop.

The World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association was established in November 2004 to promote consensus of "Fair Trade" practices in recycling. Patterned after "Fair Trade Coffee" programs, the WR3A gets suppliers to meet with the buyers, and works out a "win win" trade agreement so that everyone gets what they bargained for, without the TAR. Demand and repair expertise are so great overseas that an "export ban" is will work about as well as growing all our coffee domestically, WR3A notes.

Colin Davis, the new Director of WR3A, has been hired to coordinate the membership and facilitate communication. Following the successful path of Fair Trade Coffee, he is signing up universities and government surplus property programs who should care about how their material is handled. WR3A will try to match those suppliers with companies who can certify their processes, and match those companies with legitimate end markets, domestically or overseas, according to the best available practices for the volumes that Americans generate.