A New Organization Will Now Manage R2 Standard
As of June 5, 2014, the R2 (Responsible Recycling) standard will be managed by SERI (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International).
SERI is a non-profit organization with a global mission: “promoting safe and sustainable electronics reuse and recycling worldwide.” Their core focus is to administer and improve the Responsible Recycling Standard globally.
In addition to managing the R2 Standard, SERI will expand its scope to sponsoring and supporting electronics recycling projects in developing countries, education, and outreach campaigns on the need for responsible recycling, and other activities.
There is no need to worry as nothing will be changing for CompuCycle, Houston’s first R2 Certified Recycler. The R2 2013 Standard Program is not changing. SERI is committed to multi-stakeholder decision-making regarding any changes to the Responsible Recycling Standard.
“A new organization is necessary to carry out additional activities, create new programs and meet new challenges in electronics recycling around the world. SERI is launching several new programs designed to promote responsible recycling.”
A diverse group of individuals, consisting of OEMs, certifying authorities, NGOs, purchasing bodies, governments, recycling organizations, and the customers and partners of those recycling companies are a part of the Responsible Recycling standard Technical Advisory Committee as well as the Board of Directors representing SERI. This means that SERI is more than able to comprehend the technical, environmental, economic, sociological, and political aspects and dimensions of the problems related to e-recycling and is in an ideal position to craft and implement effective solutions for those issues.
The memberships of SERI include STEP (Solving the E-waste Problem), NERC (Northeast Recycling Council), ERCC (Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse), and the ReMade Institute. On 27th January 2021, SERI organized an event called NIST – Circular Economy in the High-Tech World. It was a two-day workshop, open for all and completely free. The workshop convened the individuals involved in the supply chains of solar panels, batteries, and electronics to assess and address the different barriers, technical as well as economic, that come in the way of repurposing, refurbishing, reusing and recycling these products. A huge number of individuals representing different recycling organizations, policymakers, researchers, suppliers, and manufacturers attended the workshop and learned about the role that NIST plays in identifying the items and processes that support the transition to a circular economy and how the Responsible Recycling standard managing organization advocates and facilitates the process.
Seri’s mission is, “SERI works to create a world where electronic products are reused and recycled in a way that results in resource preservation, the well-being of the environment, and the health and safety of workers and communities.” SERI also manages the coordination of IEMN (International E-Waste Management Network).
IEMN came into being in 2011 and was a bilateral effort between the Taiwan EPA (Environmental Protection Administration) and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) of the USA. With the passage of time, several countries from Asia, South America, Africa, North America, and the Caribbean joined the network, and their officials started participating in the efforts to spread the best practices of recycling, refurbishing, and reuse of electronics as well as the management of e-waste and e-scrap across the globe.
Another breakthrough of SERI is the role it played in connecting two major certification programs pertaining to the electronics circular economy. One of them is the Responsible Recycling Standard, and the other one is RIOS (Recycling Industry Operating Standard). The coordination between the two aids different electronics corporations to gain knowledge and implement quality and safety management systems within their different processes. The R2 facilities can now lower the costs of auditing and swiftly adopt safe management processes, thanks to the alliance.
Some other outreaches and educational programs of SERI include:
- Plastics Recycling Guide – A practical handbook providing useful information about how to identify the different types of plastics and how to process them without access to any specialized equipment. It is developed by sustainable electronics, and they published it to be available to everyone for free.
- GPS Tracker Grant Program – This aimed to enable different organizations that are R2 certified to experiment and discover the possible support that GPS tracking could give to quality assurance systems during downstream recycling. SERI sponsored 250 of these grants.
- United Nations University E-waste Academy – The BBC (Business Boot Camp) program of the UNUEA spreads awareness among e-waste entrepreneurs across different emerging economies. SERI sponsored the program.
- StEP – SERI joined hands with StEP to grow its network of collaboration in the domains of e-recycling and e-waste management.
CompuCycle always supports any efforts made toward the betterment and sustainability of the environment. It welcomes all organizations and agencies that are working towards a better future to join hands with it for the promotion of such activities and spread of awareness about the problems.
To get more information about SERI, you can visit www.sustainableelectronics.org.
