Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP) Initiative –
Towards sustainable solutions
Jean Cox-Kearns, Dell
E-waste Management Forum
23-24 November 2010, Marrakech, Morocco
StEP Objective
Solving the E-waste Problem (StEP) Initiative was created to…
Initiate and facilitate environmentally, economically & socially sound
approaches to reduce e-waste flows and handle them in a sustainable way
around the globe.
StEP...
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Functions as a network of actors who share
experiences and best practices,
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Carries out research and development projects,
Disseminates experiences, best practices and
recommendations.
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E-Waste - A Significant Challenge
Volumes:
• Increasing sales of electronics, decreasing lifetimes
• App. 42 million tonnes e-waste generated worldwide
• EU-27 in 2009: 10.6 Mt on market, app. 8.8 million tons
generated, only 2.9 million tons 'officially collected'
Exports:
• As donations/2nd hand, often illegal
• Mainly to Asia (China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam), Africa
(Nigeria & neighboring Western Africa, Northern Africa),
Eastern Europe
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E-Waste - A Significant Challenge
Dangers
• Re-use/repair of some devices, but low probability of state-of-art recycling at
end-of-life
• Backyard recycling with high environmental & health impacts and low yields
/efficiency
• Soil & water contamination
from chemical disposal
• Toxic emissions from
burning of materials
©Empa,
Switzerland
Total Au-recovery
efficiency only
 25%, while
environmental &
health damage is
dramatic
(Rochat, Keller, EMPA 2007)
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StEP Core Principles
1.
StEP's work is founded on scientific assessments including
social, environmental and economic aspects
2.
StEP conducts research on the entire life-cycle of electronic
and electrical equipment
3.
StEP's research and pilot projects are meant to contribute to
the solution of e-waste problems
4.
StEP condemns all illegal activities related to e-waste
including illegal shipments
5.
StEP seeks to foster safe and eco/energy-efficient reuse and
recycling practices around the globe in a socially responsible
manner
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Membership
StEP invites pro-active:
 Companies;
 Governmental Organisations;
 Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs);
 International Organisations; and
 Academic Institutions
from around the world to become a member
Members have to agree to the StEP principles through signing a Memorandum of Understanding
Membership Overview (November 2010)
 International Organisations
 Basel Convention Coordinating Centre For Training and
Technology Transfer For The African Region
 Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Asia & the
Pacific
 Center for Environment and Development for the Arab
Region and Europe (CEDARE)
 Secretariat of the Basel Convention (SBC)
 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD)
 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
 United Nations Industrial Deelopment Organization
(UNIDO)
 United Nations University (UNU)
 Industry
 AER Worldwide
 Cisco Systems Ltd.
 Compliance & Risks
 Dataserv Ltd.
 Datec Technologies
 Dell
 Ericsson
 Flection
 GOAB mbH
 Hewlett Packard (HP)
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 Governmental and Development Cooperation
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German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)
Swiss State Secretariat of Economics (SECO)
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA)
Enda Europe*
 Academia & Research
 MicroPro
 National Center for Electronics
Recycling
 Nokia
 Philips Consumer Lifestyle
 PT PLUS KG
 Renewable Recyclers
 Sims Recycling Solutions
 Taizhou Chiho Tiande
 Umicore Precious Metal
Refining
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Austrian Society for Systems Engineering and Automation (SAT)
BIO Intelligence Service
Chinese Acadamy of Sciences (CAS)
Delft University of Technology
GAIKER Foundation
Griffith University
Institute for Applied Ecology (Öko-Institut)
Federal Laboratory for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA)
Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (IZM)
Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources (KIGAM)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Rifer Environmental
Sustainable Electronic Initiative at the University of Illinois
Technical University of Braunschweig
Techsoup
TELECOM & Management Sud Paris
Thai Electrical and Electronic Institute
University of Limerick
* Associate Member
WEEE Forum*
3P Consortium for Sustainable Management
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How we work…
StEP GENERAL ASSEMBLY
REGIONAL
FOCAL POINTS
STEERING COMMITTEE
… dedicated to
product design
aspects to reduce
negative impacts of
the entire life cycle of
electronics…
SECRETARIAT (UNU)
Task Force Policy & Legislation
Task Force
ReDesign
… defines globally consistent
“re-use” practices and
standards to enhance re-use
opportunities, change
consumer behaviour &
reduce „sham re-use“…
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Task Force
ReUse
Analyzes the status of existing policy
approaches on e-waste, and elaborates
policy recommendations for future
developments...
Task Force
ReCycling
Task Force Capacity Building
… overall aim is to
enhance global
recycling infrastructures
and technologies to
realise a sustainable ewaste recycling…
… aims at increasing public, scientific and business awareness,
disseminating the results of TFs 1 – 4 and engage in training…
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Selected Work Results: Publications
www.step-initiative.org/publications
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Selected Work Results: WP EOL Standard
StEP White Paper `Standards for EoL-Operations of EEE`
• Contents:
 Basic Principles
 Key Requirements
 Their Auditing and Certification
 National and International Implementation of Standards
WP is NOT a standard!
WP gives guidance to stakeholders setting up standards
WP shall reflect StEP‘s position on what standards should regulate and how
they should be implemented
Final review round, publication expected by end of this year
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Selected Work Results: Best Practices in Reuse
Project: Best practices in Reuse
• Seed funded StEP project of TF ReUse
• Joint project supervision by EMPA and Technical University Braunschweig
• Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
Develop a generic description form for reuse business models
Identify generic barriers and success factors for reuse business models
Provide the basis for the development of a global certification standard for
reuse business models
• Project subgroup formed, consisting of:
 Claudia Lüpschen (UNU)
 Tobias Luger (TU Braunschweig)
 Stefan Andrew (TU Braunschweig)
 John Dickenson (AER Worldwide)
 Colin Fitzpatrick (University of Limerick)
 Maurice O’Connell (University of Limerick)
 Jean Cox-Kearns (Dell)
 Marie Zide (Ericsson)
 Clementine O'Connor (Bio
Intelligence Service)
 Heinz Böni (EMPA)
 Ramon Kissling (EMPA)
Project kick-off in mid August 2010, final report due in February 2011
19.10.2010
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Selected Work Results: E-waste Summer School
NVMP-StEP E-waste Summer School Series 2009 & 2010
• Promote innovative scientific e-waste research
• Establish an international research agenda
• Develop a multidisciplinary network of young scholars
• Link young researchers to experts from industry, academia and policy decisionmaking
Summer School 2010:
• 29 August – 7 September 2010 in
Eindhoven/Hoboken
• Expert lectures, workshops and
groupwork
• Organised by United Nations University
• Supported by NVMP, Philips, Empa and
Umicore
www.step-initiative.org/summerschool
 Concept for Summer School Series 2011/2012 under revision
 Potentially alternating target groups (SME‘s & government officials)
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Selected Work Results: Recycling Trainer
Recycling Trainer-online: What is it?
• Web-based multimedia self-learning / training and information
system for e-waste recycling
• Developed by StEP member Goab: www.recycling-trainer.eu
• Database structure
• Web-utilization via DSL-connection
• Learning-management-system allows user-specific configuration
through a training instructor
• System provides possibility to create user-specific multiple-choicetests
• Currently available in German and English
• At this time content based on EU guidelines (WEEE)
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Selected Work Results: Recycling Trainer
Primary target group
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Mainly new employees in e-waste recycling…
...often: - unskilled,
without knowledge/experience in recycling
- with poor knowledge of the national language
- without PC experience
Philosophy of Recycling-Trainer
- Highest possible visualization of the topics
- Providing knowledge through combination of picture,
video, text and audio
- Short clear texts, clear, slowly spoken language
- Clear, well arranged design of operational controls
- Modular structure of contents, easy to exchange or to supplement
Revision/extension of Recycling Trainer-online for use in developing countries
Project proposal for revision ready, funding acquisition ongoing
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Selected Work Results: ADDRESS
ADDRESS: Annual Dynamic Digital Reporting on the global E-waSte Status
 Objectives:
 To inform e-waste related research with up-to-date and solid data on e-waste globally
 To enable policy-makers to make better informed decisions
 Part 1: Global e-waste amounts
Provide data for science-/data-based research work on e-waste globally
 1a. Input module, data inventory
 1b. Modelling module
 1c. Presentation / reporting on global quantities
 Part 2: Country benchmarking
Provide feedback to various regions in the world on details and best practices as well as
the performance per country over time
 2a. Benchmark development and application
 2b. Publishing Benchmark outcomes
 Part 3: Information Hub
Providing e-waste related information online per country over time
 3a. Gathering country info
 3b. Publishing the global e-waste status annually
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Selected Work Results: ADDRESS
ADDRESS subgroup:
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CEDARE
C&R
EMPA
WEEE Forum
MIT
TELECOM & Man.
Thai EEI
Umicore
UNU
US-EPA
Next steps:
 Vision! Break down into
smaller tasks (e.g. regional
proposals)
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Conclusions
• Knowledge hub for e-waste related
issues
• International e-waste knowledge
transfer
• Multi-stakeholder approach
• Holistic view
• Based on scientific assessment
• Pragmatic and problem-oriented
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CONTACT
StEP Secretariat
c/o UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY
Institute for Sustainability and Peace
(UNU-ISP SCYCLE)
53113 Bonn / Germany
+49-228-815-0213/-0214
+49-228-815-0299
www.step-initiative.org
info@step-initiative.org
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