Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), the nation’s leading recycler of electronic waste, announced today that it has received the Basel Action Network’s (BAN’s) e-Stewards E-Waste Recycler Certification for its facility in Denver, Colorado.

BAN’s e-Steward Certification is the first electronic recycling standards program backed by environmental organizations and major corporations alike. The accredited, third-party audited certification program has been endorsed by Greenpeace USA, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Electronics TakeBack Coalition and 68 other environmental organizations. It has also drawn the support of major corporate “e-Stewards Enterprises” including Alcoa, Samsung, Bank of America, Capital One Financial Corp. and Wells Fargo.

At the heart of the program is the e-Stewards Standard, created by BAN with the advice of industry leaders and health and environmental specialists. It requires recyclers to eliminate exports of hazardous e-wastes to developing countries; to halt the dumping of such wastes in municipal landfills or incinerators, and to cease the use of captive prison populations to manage toxic e-wastes. It also calls for strict protection of customer’s private data and occupational health safeguards to ensure that workers in recycling plants are not exposed to toxic dusts and fumes.

Independent auditor QMI-SAI Global conducted the audit that found ERI’s Denver facility to be operating within all the parameters set by BAN’s e-stewards standard.

“We are extremely proud that our Denver facility has met the strictest standards of environmental and operational excellence,” said John S. Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of ERI. “We strongly support BAN’s certified, third-party audited program to separate the legitimate recyclers from the low-road operators and encourage all recyclers to also pursue Certification as we have done at all of our locations.”