The recycling of electronic wastes, in a context of increased globalisation of trade, is faced with a dual constraint. On one hand, there are international obligations that restrict or prohibit export or import of electronic hazardous wastes for any purposes, including such wastes destined for recycling. On the other hand, many countries do not possess an adequate capacity to recycle electronic wastes.

The current trend leads to a number of undesirable effects. Product take-back schemes and recycling programmes may suffer from the lack of national capacity to recycle electronic wastes in a sound way. Large quantities of electronic wastes are exported or imported on the fringe of international rules and procedures, sometimes illegally.

A world recycling market for electronic wastes should rely on existing corporate best practices, effective implementation of international rules and regulations and on a solid national base for the environmentally sound management of all wastes. It means that such a market would need to operate in the context of the development of a global level-playing field that provides for a high degree of environmental and health protection.

Developing take-back schemes and sound recycling programmes at the country level, which are both socially acceptable and environmentally sound, is a critical first step to come to grasp with the challenge posed by the rapid obsolescence of equipments and products.

The focus should be to improve the traceability of electronic wastes and parts subject to transboundary movements, to ensure that these wastes are directed to facilities that can operate in an environmentally sound way and that every custodian of the wastes (from generation, storage, transport, recycling, refurbishment to disposal of residues) is certified or authorised to deal with these materials.

Such way forward would need to be supported by an international standard for the environmentally sound recycling (ESM) of electronic wastes. An ESM certification scheme for recycling facilities could be conceived to qualify those facilities that operate at such high environmental and health standard.

Improving transparency, certainty, traceability and predictability in the movement of electronic wastes destined for recycling could provide incentives for economic operators to invest in best practices, take-back schemes and recycling programmes. It could improve the global capacity to recycle electronic wastes in an environmentally sound manner and help building capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to recycle electronic wastes generated domestically. It could also help in reducing transboundary movements of electronic hazardous wastes.