“[…] it is not possible to know if “the last owner has discarded with the view of its disposal.”  If I am looking at two identical fully functioning LCD displays or any other device in a container that is about to move across a national boundary there is no possible way I can impute the intent of the last owner.  In the US the average hard drive is only used for 40% of its designed life not because of lack of functionality but rather it has been replaced by new technology.  How can I possibly know if a hard drive that has been used for 20,000 hours but designed for a mean time failure rate of 50,000 hours was discarded with ‘a view of disposal.’”

From p. 2 of response by PC Rebuilders & Recyclers (PCRR) to Basel Secretariat. 2011. ‘Draft Technical Guidelines on Transboundary Movement of E-Waste, in Particular Regarding the Distinction between Waste and Non-Waste (Version: 21 February 2011 )’. http://archive.basel.int/techmatters/code/comments.php?guidId=78.