The leaders of the e-Stewards certification today unveiled an online tool that aims to push more material through certified firms.
Going live today, e-Stewards Marketplace functions as a virtual exchange for e-scrap. Firms certified to the e-Stewards standard can use the tool to buy and sell e-scrap, with non-certified firms allowed to sell material as well.
The Marketplace website was developed through a partnership with Seattle-based tech firm Retrace and, according to BAN, companies such as LG Electronics and the data protection services firm Tabernus “have all expressed their intent to use the site for their electronic asset disposition and services.”
The site could also help non-certified and small to mid-level firms seeking to use certified downstream companies and IT service companies.
“At last, businesses everywhere can sell obsolete electronics at the best price, driving a triple bottom line – enhancing profits, sustainability and social justice,” said Jim Puckett, executive director of the Basel Action Network, the group that administers the e-Stewards standard.
The launch coincided with the opening of E-Scrap 2014, where Puckett will deliver a presentation, in part, about the Marketplace platform on Thursday. BAN also recently released an app, which allows users to track the measurable environmental impacts of sending electronics to e-Stewards firms for recycling or reuse.