Why Basel Convention says Export for Repair is LEGAL

From Cairo Tour 2008

Technician in Egypt repairs plastic on a monitor casing. 


Technician trains second technician to repair circuit board.

From Cairo Tour 2008

These monitors were pre-inspected in a visit by the Egyptian buyer, who helped train our staff in Vermont to identify which cosmetic fixes and which repairs were possible.  We removed the ones "in doubt" and recycled those in the USA.  We exported only 22.5% of all the material we collected as "intact units" for repair and refurbishment, and only shipped "Grade A" quality to Cairo.

Monitor will be resold in to students at one of the many shops in the Technology Mall in Cairo



This operation was closed down in 2008 when Egyptian customs changed their enforcement.  Under Basel Convention, Annex IX, B1110, this is legal.  Crystal Clear that this is legal.  But the fear of western "dumping" of e-waste is being sold directly to African governments by BAN.org, see Jim Puckett's presentation in Ghana, see BAN's "tested working" and "fully functional" definitions.  

I used to get monitors from BAN Pledge signers for this market.  All of them have now stopped shipping their grade A monitors, and the "no intact unit" policy invented in California for SB20 is contagious. 

The number one cause of death of women in Cairo is bleeding in childbirth.    The BBC reports that the country needs to computerize its blood bank.  That project would probably be done at the University and medical school in Cairo, where the Technology Mall is located close by.  The owner of this repair shop is a med school grad, as is his brother.