Thousands of tonnes of toxic e-waste is illegally dumped in vulnerable regions every year. A new addition to TCO Certified Edge will help solve the problem. By choosing to buy certified IT products, purchasers can make sure that an equivalent amount of e-waste is collected and recycled in a safe way.
TCO Development, the organization behind the global sustainability certification TCO Certified, now gives purchasing organizations the opportunity to take responsibility for the e-waste they generate. When they buy an IT product certified according to the TCO Certified Edge criterion, E-waste Compensated, an equivalent amount of e-waste is collected in a country lacking in safe recycling systems. The environment is protected from hazardous substances and, due to social requirements, fair job opportunities are created locally. The collected e-waste is then transported to a recycling plant compliant with strict environmental criteria.
Closing the Loop, a circular service provider, is the first approved collector within the framework of TCO Certified Edge, E-waste Compensated. “E-waste is often seen as a problem, but it also represents opportunities for green procurement. Shifting e-waste to where it can be recycled in a responsible manner, can give those valuable resources a second life, keeping them in the loop of the circular economy,” says Joost de Kluijver, founder of Closing the Loop. TCO Certified Edge is a supplemental certification to TCO Certified. The new criterion E-waste Compensated is launched on March 31 . From this date, organizations can use the criterion in their IT procurement.
Source: Yahoo