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Export of E-Waste from Canada: a Story As Told by GPS Trackers

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Export of E-Waste from Canada: a Story As Told by GPS Trackers Export of e-Waste from Canada A Story as Told by GPS Trackers Export of e-Waste from Canada A Story as Told by GPS trackers October 10, 2018 A Report from the e-Trash Transparency Project Basel Action Network 206 First Ave S. #410 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: +1(206)652.5555 E-mail: http://www.ban.org Authors: Jim Puckett, Chris Brandt, Hayley Palmer Editor: Hayley Palmer Canadian Field Work: David Joseph, Aaron Dirk, Arthur Wood Hong Kong Field Work: Chris Brandt, Hayley Palmer, Avery Brandt, Nam Chan Pakistan Field Work: Shakila Umair Made possible by a Grant from the WYNG Foundation Table of Contents Executive Summary……………………………………………. 1 Key Findings……………………………………………………. 3 The Global e-Waste Dumping Crisis…………………………. 4 History of BAN’s e-Waste Tracking…………………………... 6 Ground Zero: Guiyu…………………………………….. 6 Hong Kong’s Role in e-Waste Smuggling……………. 6 China Closes the Door…………………………………. 7 The Promise of GPS Tracking…………………………. 8 The e-Trash Transparency Project……………………. 9 Hong Kong Reacts to GPS Findings………………….. 9 China’s National Sword………………………………… 11 e-Waste in Pakistan…………………………………….. 11 The Canadian Trackers……………………………………….. 12 Introduction………………………………………………. 12 Certifications and Producer Responsibility Schemes in Canada………………………………………………… 12 What we Found Out- By the Numbers………………... 13 Methodology……………………………………………………. 14 Export Overview……………………………………………….. 15 Trackers Deployed March- August 2017……………………. 22 How the GPS Devices Work…………………………... 22 Exported Trackers in Detail…………………………………… 23 ERA Vancouver #1……………………………………. 23 ERA Vancouver #2……………………………………… 25 Uniway (ERA drop site- Edmonton……………………. 28 CDI Markham……………………………………………. 30 Recycle Informatique…………………………………… 31 Evolu-TIC Outaouais…………………………………… 33 Geep, Calgary…………………………………………… 34 Canada’s Most Prolific Exporter……………………………… 36 Continual Exports to Asia………………………………. 36 ERA Vancouver Container Exports 2008-2013……… 37 Data Insecurity…………………………………………... 41 A Non-profit?............................................................... 41 A Recycler?................................................................. 41 Threats and Donations…………………………………. 42 Conclusion……………………………………………………… 43 Recommendations………………………………………. 44 Executive Summary In 2017 between the months of March and extrapolation would indicate that as much as August, BAN delivered a total of 43 used 116,000 tons of e-waste is exported by electronic devices that contained GPS Canada per annum. And such volumes trackers, to electronics recyclers or recycler would likely represent illegal shipments. collection sites in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, We followed the Asian bound exported Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and devices with field investigations. The three Quebec. We did this to better understand devices that moved to Hong Kong traveled whether Canada and its electronics industry to the New Territories region of Hong Kong-- was complying with the waste trade an area now well documented as being a obligations of the Basel Convention and the global e-waste trafficking and smuggling laws of Canada and of importing countries. hub.2 In New Territories, e-waste junkyards, hidden behind steel fences, are numerous. All of these electronic devices were They are sites where undocumented rendered non-functional and economically laborers have been recently employed in the unrepairable. The devices chosen were crude and harmful breakdown of the Cathode-Ray-Tube (CRT) type monitors, electronic equipment, often exposing Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) type monitors themselves to dangerous toner dust, and, in (containing mercury lamps) and printers the case of LCDs -- the extremely toxic (containing lead-laden circuit boards). All of metal mercury. the equipment used qualified under the Basel Convention as hazardous waste and Likewise, a field investigation we conducted under Canada's Basel Convention in Pakistan, follow a Canadian LCD to implementation legislation. In each of these, Peshawar. This investigation, revealed we planted a GPS tracker capable of similar harmful breakdown operations of e- reporting to us every 24 hours as to its waste. These operations showed that location. hazardous toners, mercury and lead releases presenting likely harm to workers Of the 43 trackers deployed at Canadian and the general population in the market electronics recyclers and collection sites, area. seven (7) of the 43 (16%) were exported out of Canada. Of the exported tracked scrap 4 of the discovered exports (to developing equipment four of seven (57%) went to countries) were deemed likely to be illegal developing countries -- three to Hong Kong and 3 (to developed countries) possibly and one to Pakistan. The other exports illegal. These assertions arise from the fact went to developed countries, one to that each of these pieces of equipment are Germany and two to the United States. considered to be hazardous waste under the Basel Convention and four of the five While these amounts can, on the one hand, countries concerned, Canada, China be seen as small, one must not forget what (including Hong Kong), Pakistan, and they represent. Canada generates 724 kt of Germany are all parties to the Basel e-waste per annum. Our sample size is small but if it is representative, 1 http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2005-149/page-1.html 2 http://wiki.ban.org/images/1/17/ScamRecyclingContinuesUpdate_2.pdf 1 Convention. Under the Convention, all illegal and unsustainable exports from exports by Parties would require that the Canadian shores to developing countries. importing country is notified prior to export In this regard, it is of great concern that the by the government of Canada and Electronics Product Stewardship Canada consented to by the receiving government of (EPSC), a consortium of electronics China, Pakistan or Germany. And, if they manufacturers operating in Canada, has had been notified to China or Pakistan, removed all references to the Basel Canada would have been obliged to prohibit Convention and issues regarding the the exportation due to the fact that these two exports of hazardous wastes to developing nations forbid the import of hazardous countries from their performance standard wastes from anywhere (in the case of for program recyclers. This fact may play a Pakistan) and from OECD countries (in the role in creating confusion and negligence case of Hong Kong). The shipments to among recyclers in Canada as to the legality Germany and to the US can legally take of their exports. place using other agreements but even under these agreements prior notification The government of Canada needs to do a and consent would still be required. far better job in two respects. First, it needs to ratify and implement the Basel Ban Three of the seven exports, and three of four Amendment, forbidding all exports of (75%) that were shipped to developing hazardous wastes of any kind and for any countries, all came from one company -- reason from being exported to developing Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) countries. This agreement is on the cusp of which has had a history of similar exports in going into global force and it provides the past. This report takes a closer look at Canada with the opportunity of being a last- this company and its history and calls for minute hero with respect to promoting global greater scrutiny and investigation of what environmental justice. And, Canada needs appears to be, a repeat offender. to do a far better job of enforcing the Basel Convention rules that currently apply, The report notes that Canadian industry and particularly in regard to the exportation from government could do far more to rectify the its electronics recyclers. Port of Vancouver where most of the likely illegal exports leave Canada. 2 Key Findings 1. Canada continues to allow exports of hazardous e-waste (16%). 2. Canada continues to allow exports of hazardous e-waste to flow to developing countries (in this case, China and Pakistan). In our study, 9.3% of the deployments were exported to developing countries. These are all likely to be illegal. 3. The export rate of recyclers (16%) is far less than the export rate from recyclers identified 2 years earlier in the United States (34%) but is still of significant concern, especially in light of the fact that Canada has a legal obligation under the Basel Convention and the US does not. 4. Canada generates 724 kt of e-waste per year. Thus, our findings, of the seven units tracked leaving Canada, if extrapolated, could represent as much as 116,000 tonnes of e-waste exported per annum (67,332 tonnes likely shipped illegally to developing countries) 5. Local contamination and harmful exposure in the receiving communities in Hong Kong and Pakistan is likely and would include pollution and exposure from heavy metals, mercury, dioxins, furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 6. 3 of the 7 exports and 3 of the 4 that went to developing countries were exported by one non-profit organization -- Electronics Recycling Association (ERA) that has a long history of similar exports. 7. 3 of the 7 exporting companies involved in the documented exports were ARMA/EPRA approved processors and R2 Certified. 4 were not certified to any electronics recycling standard. 8. A consortium of electronics manufacturers operating in Canada known as the Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) does not require Basel Convention Export controls in their standard even though Canada is a Basel Party. 9. EPSC only recognizes the R2 standard, which is not
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