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26 26 P a r t I : a r t I : T r e n d s a n d R e a s o n s t o G o G r e e nr e n d s a n d R e a s o n s t o G o G r e e n

The result of this distaste for the Basel Convention was the drafting—and large approval—
of the Basel Ban Amendment. It was the work of developing nations, Greenpeace, and some
European countries such as Denmark.
The Basel Ban is not in force yet, but is considered morally binding by signatories. So
far 63 countries have signed the ban, but for its adoption three-fourths of the convention’s
170 signatories must sign off.

NOTE The European Union implemented the Basel Ban in its Waste Shipment Regulation.
Therefore, it is legally binding for all EU member states.

North America
North America is home to two countries that seem to be struggling with implementing
e-waste programs. The United States and Canada have both been trying to get national
laws on the books, but it hasn’t happened yet. Not to be deterred, several states and
provinces have taken up the issue at the local level and have developed their own
e-waste laws.
This section examines what’s going on in the U.S. and Canada. It looks at the issue
of e-waste at the national level and also drills down to specific state and province
measures.

The United States
Surprisingly, the U.S. doesn’t have a national law governing e-waste, but it is making strides.
Politicians try to pass legislation, but it seems to run out of gas before passage. Although the
country, as a whole, doesn’t have any broad e-waste regulation, many states have taken it
upon themselves to protect their environments.

EPEAT
Although the federal government hasn’t adopted Green IT laws that apply to the entire
populace, it is moving forward on rules that apply to itself. And because of the government’s
sheer buying power (it buys about 2.2 million PCs per year), business is likely to follow suit.
The government is moving forward with a plan requiring federal agencies to buy PCs and
monitors that are energy efficient and have reduced levels of toxic chemicals. In December 2007,
the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, and the General Services Administration outlined a rule
that requires purchases to be compliant with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment
Tool (EPEAT).
EPEAT was developed by the Green Electronics Council in Portland, Oregon to help
institutional purchasers evaluate, compare, and select desktop computers, notebook
computers, and monitors based on their environmental attributes.
Electronics can be awarded a gold, silver, or bronze certification, based on how
well they meet 51 criteria, including ease of disassembly, chemical content, end-of-life
design, and others. Products must meet at least 23 of the criteria for the bronze-level
certification.