International Programs
Cleaning Up Electronic Waste (E-Waste)
New Reports on E-Waste in Ethiopia and China 
In April 2013, StEP released two key reports for Ethiopia and China that provide key information on how e-waste is managed in these countries.
EPA provided financial support for the development of both reports.
Building upon the Ethiopia report and other StEP work supported by EPA, the GEF awarded $1 million to the Ethiopian government, through UNIDO, to scale up those efforts and help them develop a fully functional e-waste management system for the country. This is the first e-waste project in which the GEF is investing.
The China report, a collaboration between StEP and Tshingua University in Beijing, is the first comprehensive overview of the e-waste problem in China.
From computers and cell phones, to portable communication and music devices -- the United States of America is a global leader in designing and developing new and improved electronic technologies. With this vibrant innovation, however, comes the increasing challenge of protecting human health and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of poorly managed manufacturing, use, recovery, recycling and disposal of these products.
Currently, most discarded consumer elctronics end up in our landfills. While accurate data on the amount of e-waste being exported from the U.S. are not available, the United States government is concerned that these exports are being mismanaged abroad, causing serious public health and environmental hazards, and representing a lost opportunity to recover valuable resources effectively. U.S. laws and regulations are limited in their ability to prevent harmful exports of used electronics to developing countries.
While EPA continues to build upon its domestic efforts of improving management of discarded used electronics to minimize the growing stream of e-waste and to increase the recycling and reuse of these materials, EPA’s international efforts focus on addressing the problems caused when used electronics are exported to developing countries that lack the capacity to manage them safely, causing human health and environmental impacts amongst workers and communities. EPA efforts support the United States government's National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship, which details the federal government’s plan to enhance the management of electronics throughout the product lifecycle
EPA collaborates with the United Nations University - Solving the E-waste Problem Initiative (StEP) to jointly address the e-waste problem in developing countries.
EPA and StEP signed a cooperative agreement on this topic in November 2010. EPA and StEP are working collaboratively on tracking global flows of e-waste, strengthening Ethiopia's efforts to manage e-waste and engaging with China on e-waste management practices. EPA is a founding member of StEP and serves on the StEP Steering Committee.
Additional Links
You can learn more about EPA's work on e-waste and used electronics management at the following links:
Back to: International Priorities - Electronics Waste
Contacts
For additional information on EPA's international work on e-waste, contact:
Stephanie Adrian
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of International and Tribal Affairs (2670R)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
E-mail: adrian.stephanie@epa.gov
(202) 564-6444