2009 Export Standards

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The World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association is reforming exports for reuse and recycling, and promoting "Fair Trade" between surplus property liquidators and foreign repair and recycling shops.  Our members recognize that problems exist with the export of used goods, and agree to use best available practices to ensure that only quality products are exported for reuse and recycling.  Our tool is civil law.  If you respond to WR3A's RFPs, and sign a contract with WR3A, we will enforce the contract.

Here is an example of our RECONCILIATION REPORT, showing how many good items were received after export.  This WR3A member began at double-digit fallout after switching to us from an "ask no questions buyer".  With feedback from sales from the factory-direct WR3A sale to Malaysia, this company improved to under 2% bad units (better than brand-new monitors received before sale at Wal-Mart).  It's a great example of how Fair Trade standards are a win-win for the buyer and the seller.   The Malaysia factory also provides CRT Glass Recycling records for incidental breakage (the 1.67% of bad CRTs in the above shipment, documentation available to WR3A members).

WR3A members PAY the importer if any bad units are received, and typically maintain a lower failure rate than brand new units!  The buyer had not been paid to recycle incidental bad CRTs before.  Now they are in the CRT recycling business, taking back junk CRTs from residents in their own state in Malaysia!   A Mexican company is doing the same, and an African buyer is also gathering information to recycle bad CRTs generated within their country.  This is PROGRESS we can be proud of!

WR3A adapted standards to raise the barriers to the export of useless and toxic e-waste, and uses civil law agreements to enforce these standards.  If you are a GENERATOR, we will enforce your agreements with the PROCESSOR.  If you are a PROCESSOR, we will enforce the agreement with the END MARKET.  If you are an END MARKET, we will enforce your agreement with WR3A.   Below are some of the standards WR3A enforces.

1. CRT Glass Test:  All agree that NOT EVERY CRT is repairable.  Therefore, companies exporting reuseable CRTs must be able to document where the BAD CRTs are going.

2. Capacity Test:  If not every CRT is exportable, the company must show they have the capacity to recycle the bad monitors.   This generally means showing that sufficient employees or capital investments are in place to account for processing a significant number of bad CRTs.

3. Truthful Bill of Lading:  While market information may be subject to confidentiality, the declared description of goods must be accurate.  Monitors should not be exported as "scrap metal".  We recommend that each and every monitor be identified by year, make, model, country of manufacture and tested condition, so that importers have an opportunity to screen out what they can't repair (e.g. "We don't want to buy pre-1995, or Apple, or dumb terminals").

4. Gold Test:  The demand for gold in Asia (the world's highest consumer PER CAPITA) drives a lot of the importation of non-repairable electronic scrap.  While the WR3A has not taken a position on scrap metal this year, we recommend that members declare their processing records for gold-bearing circuit boards.