Merit ePartners Achieves e-Stewards Certification

Attains the gold standard for globally responsible management of electronic waste

Stockton, California. July 24, 2013. The Basel Action Network (BAN), a non-profit organization focused on eliminating irresponsible trade of toxic waste, announced today that Stockton, California’s Merit ePartners has achieved e-Stewards® certification. eStewards recyclers are audited by third-party certifying bodies to ensure the highest standards of social and environmental protections.

In the U.S., few laws exist to ensure that the recycling of toxic electronic waste (ewaste) is done responsibly. e-Stewards recyclers demonstrate to third-party auditors that their workers are protected from workplace emissions, toxic e-waste does not end up in local landfills or incinerators, no labor in prisons is used, and hidden, private data in the equipment is protected and destroyed.

“By achieving e-Stewards certification, Merit ePartners joins an elite group of recyclers that have successfully completed rigorous independent audits to verify conformance with the highest standard for responsible e-waste recycling,” said Jim Puckett, executive director of BAN. “Only certified e-Stewards recyclers ensure customers that their hazardous electronic waste is not exported to developing countries and will be recycled in accordance with the most secure practices in the world.”

Merit Partners, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise, employs past offenders at a fair market wage in a business setting dedicated exclusively to helping them successfully transition from an institution to life on the outside. Merit ePartners processes corporate e-waste for reuse and recycle as a means to employ and train its 18 to 25-year-old employees in jobs that demand personal responsibility, teamwork and accountability.

“Merit is very proud of its e-Stewards certification,” says Tom Gammon, CEO of Merit ePartners. “The sense of pride, accomplishment and validation felt by Merit’s young employees in earning certification is powerful.”