NEW YORK – The Natural Resources Defense Council has endorsed the first certification program for electronics recycling.

With the Basel Action Network’s e-Stewards Certification and Standard, independent auditors in North America validate safe disposal of hundreds of tons of electronics each year.

The first firms to be certified to the standard and those gaining e-Steward Enterprise designations will be revealed this March.

Certification criteria include not dumping toxic e-waste in landfills or incinerators; not exporting to developing countries or sending to prisons, and being accountable for the full recycling process.

The NRDC and Basel Action Network request all electronics recyclers become e-Steward Certified.

Funding will be provided by the 14 recycling firms designated as e-Steward Founders: Boliden AB, California Electronic Asset Recovery, Cascade Asset Management, ECS Refining, Electronic Recyclers International, GreenCitizen, Hesstech, Metech, Redemtech, RELectronics, the Surplus Exchange, Total Reclaim, Waste Management Recycle America, and WeRecycle!.

Right now, 50 recyclers are considered pledged e-Stewards. Other large electronics recyclers in North America are expected to be certified within the next 18 months.