Water Presentations

1. Turning waste into resources for development
Principles for Inclusive Recycling
Mathias Schluep & Susanne Karcher, World Resources Forum & Envirosense
NCPC-SA Industrial Efficiency Conference 2017
15 September 2017, Cape Town, South Africa

2. Content
 SRI programme
 Case studies recycling in the informal sector
 Secondary plastics in India
 Secondary Metals in Ghana
 ISO IWA Guidance Principles

3. The World Resources Forum Association (WRFA) is an independent
non-profit international organization that serves as a platform
connecting and fostering knowledge exchange on resources
management amongst business leaders, policy-makers, NGOs,
scientists and the public.
Flagship activity is the annual WRF Conference.

4. Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI)
Programme - Context
 SRI builds on the success of implementing e-waste recycling
systems together with various developing countries since
more than ten years.
 It is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs
(SECO) and is implemented by the Swiss Federal Laboratories
for Materials Science & Technology (Empa), the World
Resources Forum Association (WRFA) and ecoinvent.
 Partner countries:
Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, India
 The project runs for 4 years, 2014 - 2017

5. Developing countries are endowed with
a variety of resources in large amounts
renewable non-renewable secondary
?
Quality and sustainability standards?

6. Recovery of secondary resources in developing countries is
mainly an informal business posing threads and
opportunities
Informality Threats Opportunity
~ 25’000 people work in
the the informal plastic
recycling sector in New
Delhi, India
Environmental pollution,
health hazards, cross-
contamination
„Urban mining“

7. “Governments need to develop effective regulatory regimes that empower
the market to respond positively to the challenge of e-wastes. By partnering
with the private sector and with civil society, they can promote collection
chains that channel obsolete goods back ... for recovery and recycling.”
Achim Steiner, former UNEP Executive Director

8. SRI programme’s development objective
“The sustainable integration and participation of small
and medium enterprises from developing and
transition countries in the global recycling of
secondary non renewable resources”.
Impact

9. The SRI programme creates impact with an integrated
approach engaging in three areas, involving relevant
experts and building strong local partnerships
Programme
Management
Life Cycle
Inventories
Recycling
Initiatives
SRI
Roundtable
Advisory
Council
(CH based)
Brazil, India,
South Africa
Global
stakeholder
process
International
Initiatives &
Platforms
Colombia,
Peru, Ghana,
Egypt, India

10. The informal recycling sector is the
champion in circular economy
InformalFormal 14
4.4
4.7
18
7.3
2.6
0.2
0.2
Figure: Plastic flows in India (2015). Size is relative to mass. Unit: million tonnes per year

12. The recycling value chain (1/3)WastecollectionDismantling

13. The recycling value chain (2/3)SortingShredding&
Cleaning

14. The recycling value chain (3/3)Manufactureofnew
productsExtrusion

15. The informal recycling sector is not
addressed in responsible sourcing schemes
renewable non-renewable secondary
?
Quality and sustainability standards?

16. Agbogbloshie Accra – Ghana
Subsistence Activities

17. Blancomed Accra – Ghana
“Unofficial” Business Activity

18. Global Refinery for Secondary Metals
Official Business Activity

19. SRI launched a global multi-stakeholder process to
create a framework for inclusive recycling
 The new ISO document aims to
guide economic operators of
secondary metals value chains,
including the informal sector,
in the efficient and credible
implementation of improved
recycling practices, in
particular in emerging and
developing economies.

20. Tales of Trash
5 Principles for Inclusive
Recycling
by SRI

21. video

22. www.sustainable-recycling.org
Turning waste into resources for development.
SRI builds capacity for sustainable recycling in developing countries. The programme is
funded by the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) and is implemented by the
Institute for Materials Science & Technology (Empa), the World Resources Forum (WRF)
and ecoinvent. It builds on the success of implementing e-waste recycling systems together
with various developing countries for more than ten years.
World Resources Forum Association
Lerchenfeldstrasse 5
9014 St. Gallen
Tel. 071 554 09 00
mathias.schluep@wrforum.org
www.wrforum.org
THANK YOU

23. Guidance Principles for the Sustainable Management of
Secondary Metals
ISO IWA 19:2017
Pilot Testing Phase:
June-October 2017

24. Visionbehind the Guidance Principles
Social equity, environmental justice and optimal recovery in metal recycling
worldwide, for present and future generations through:
• improving practices of economic operators (EOs) by complying with
sustainability requirements based on 5 Principles and 17 Objectives with
various improvements steps suggested over a timeframe for each type of EO
• ensuring a credible traceability of recovered metals by complying with
traceability requirements for those who wish to demonstrate so
• promoting the formalization of economic operators involved in subsistence
activities (SA) and unofficial business activities (UBA) by constituting
themselves as legal entities or joining existing ones.

25. Anticipated Benefits for EOs :
Collection, Manual and Mechanical Processing, Metallurgical Processing,
Metal Waste Transportation/Trade and Storage:
• improved safety at work and improved health outcomes for workers and
their families (particularly applicable to SA type EOs);
• improved access to funding and credit from financial institutions willing to
mitigate risks by requiring compliance with the guidance principles;
• reduced risk of non-compliance with legal requirements; applicable laws
and regulations may require that recycled metals fulfill environmental and
social criteria in line with the guidance principles.

26. Potential Benefits for Product Manufacturers and
other Purchasers of Secondary Metals :
• increased revenue through improved market access and securing longer-
term contracts “business to business” and “business to consumer”, who
may give preferential treatment to enterprises providing materials and
products that are compliant with the guidance principles;
• improved and more transparent management systems;
• secured access to secondary metal resources;
• demonstrated commitment to sustainability along their value chains.

27. Aim of the Guidance Principles
• Provide a credible and practical global framework on how to deliver
change towards more sustainable recycling practices and recovery of
metals
• Propose an assurance system and traceability scheme to those Economic
Operators that wish to demonstrate compliance with the Guidance
Principles and improvements done

28. Processes Covered by the Guidance Principles

29. Sustainability requirements

32. Gradual implementation
mechanisms
and supporting
Year 5Year 3
Year 1
Formalisation,
Year 0
system
Labour issues
resolved
Labour issue
and worst
practices
Management
plan in place
Formalisation
assurance

33. Traceability requirements
… include the development of policies and procedures
throughout the secondary metals value chain to
ensure:
• The origin of recovered metals
• Accuracy and verifiability of records of entering and
leaving material at facilities
• Product documentation management
• Product claims in relation to the Guidance
Principles

34. Secondary Metals VALUE CHAIN Stakeholders

35. Traceability requirements
Policy and
procedures
Chain of custody (CoC) policy
Material accounting models
CoC manager
Responsibilities
Documentation and records:Documentation
-Name and address of supplier
-Unique reference number
-Origin of batch
-Etc.

36. Traceability requirements
On-product claims -third-party auditing
Off-product claims -second-party auditing
Compliant claims
Assurance
systems
-Self-assessment
-Due diligence
-EPR program monitoring
-CoC assessment
-Independent reviews

37. Traceability requirements: Step-wise approach for OBA
(1)First-party audit: Verification tool that is implemented by an economic operator to assess progress of compliance
with the Principles and Objectives, and/or traceability schemes on its own practices and activities, and is
conducted by an internal auditor.
(2)Second-party audit: Verification tool that is implemented by an economic operator seeking to assess progress of
compliance by its supplier(s) with the Principles and Objectives, and/or traceability schemes relating to secondary
metals resulting from the concerned value chains.
(3)Third-party audit: Verification tool that is implemented by an independent organization (i.e. assurance providers
such as certification bodies) that assesses whether an economic operator complies with the Principles and
Objectives, and/or traceability schemes it committed to comply with.
Exemplary steps Year
1. Implement first(1)- and second-party(2)-based verification mechanisms. 1
2. Implement a second- or third-party(3)-based assurance system for the 2
verification of compliance. If interested in issuing off-product claims, introduce
second-party-based.

38. Traceability requirements:
Exemplary “Supporting Mechanisms"
National and local governments, policymakers, civil society organizations, research institutes,
trade unions, workers’ associations, industrial/trade associations, sustainability standards
organizations, private companies/corporates:
1. Legal assistance on regulations and laws on product claims and advertising
2. Training and capacity building on good management practices for product tracking,
documentation and communication
3. Wherever feasible, resources (to cover the second- and third-party-based verification
mechanisms, monitoring equipment and field visits) and financial support

39. What the Pilot Testing is about…
Evaluate the feasibility (suitability, applicability) for:
implementation and the acceptance and completeness of
the Guidance Principles by key stakeholders ,users and
Economic Operators
It is NOT:
• A practical implementation of the Guidance Principles
• An evaluation of existing compliance of interviewed
companies.
The Pilot Testing is a reality check with the aim to
analyse the following five questions:

40. Reality Check Questions:
Does the framework based on 5 key Principles and 17
Objectives cover the most relevant issues and provides
useful guidance to address them?
Are the steps and time frame comprehensive and
appropriate for an effective and efficient
implementation by the Economic Operators?
Are the supporting mechanisms doable for the
concerned parties?
Can the traceability scheme proposed to demonstrate
that recovered metals comply with the Guidance
Principles be successfully implemented?
What are possible bottlenecks in the informal sector
and barriers?
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

41. Thank you very
much
for your
Interest
Susanne Karcher (MSc. Chemeng.)
Guidance Principle Pilot Tester : South Africa
Email: envirosense@xsinet.co.za
Cell: 0718590829