“ITI is concerned that the parties have little experience with the Voluntary Approach. If the parties take an approach that expands the Convention’s definition of waste to include late model equipment that is currently managed responsibly for repair and reuse, the practical effect will be to limit the useful life of products leading to premature and accelerated waste generation. Governments will need to balance the need to control and prohibit certain shipments of E-waste that are at risk of mismanagement with the important economic and environmental benefits that flow from legitimate and efficient repair, refurbishment and reuse of electrical and electronic equipment.”

From p. 11 of response by Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) to Basel Secretariat. 2010. ‘Draft Technical Guidelines on Transboundary Movement of E-Waste, in Particular Regarding the Distinction between Waste and Non-Waste (Version 22 September 2010)’. http://www.basel.int/Implementation/Ewaste/TechnicalGuidelines/DevelopmentofTGs/tabid/2377/Default.aspx.