E-Scrap 2026 is next month, October 26-28, in New Orleans, and HOBI President Craig Boswell will speak about the importance of industry advocacy. Advocacy plays a crucial role in the ITAD industry, especially around federal, state, and international legislation and regulation. Because education is limited, some companies in the industry are unaware of industry changes and how they will affect their business. Boswell returned to the HOBI Conversations podcast for episode 6 to discuss industry advocacy, ITAD’s governing forces, why certain regulations are crucial in the ITAD space and for environmental protection, and domestic legislation ITAD enterprises should watch.
The Crucial Role of Advocacy in ITAD
Many small businesses believe their advocacy involvement means little to the industry as a whole, but Boswell emphasizes the need to participate in advocacy in HOBI’s latest podcast episode.
“The last thing you want to do is be sitting here some Monday morning, open up the Wall Street Journal, and find out that an international law or a new regulation came into effect that completely altered your business model. It’s really important that you not only understand that these things are happening or being discussed or moving towards implementation, but that you take the opportunity where you can to get involved and to state why this could be either negative or positive to your organization,” said Boswell.
According to Boswell, one way to get involved is through organizations like ReMa, formerly ISRI, or meeting with your own state representatives to state cases and advocate for the industry as a business.
“There is no circular economy without what we do. We close the circle, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those in charge of creating regulation or legislation understand the nuances of that business and how regulation changes can both positively and negatively impact our businesses. So it’s up to us to educate, as they look at things in a lot of cases, to try to make it better.”
The Basel Convention Shift
As one of the most influential governing forces in the industry, the Basel Convention is something every company needs to know. Adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, on March 22, 1989, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal is an international treaty that controls the management and trade of waste worldwide. It was first implemented in 1992 to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous waste.
The Basel Convention was established to keep the developed world from using the underdeveloped world as a dumping ground. After several international incidents involving hazardous waste and chemicals, the UN established the Basel Convention to create rules for moving hazardous waste. For years, trading electronics under an annex that exempted electronics as long as they were full assemblies was fairly simple. The first major change to significantly affect the ITAD industry came in 2025, when the Y-49 category was created and redefined what counted as hazardous waste. Under the new rule, e-waste that was not previously considered hazardous suddenly became classified as hazardous, which requires “prior informed consent” to move. PIC helps prevent the dumping of hazardous material by making trade more visible to governments.
One major challenge for U.S. ITAD right now is that the U.S. is not a party to the Basel Convention. Once something becomes classified as falling under Basel Convention controls, it becomes illegal for a non-party to trade with a party that is a non-OACD country. This significantly restricts trade between the U.S. and Basel Convention party countries.
“As an ITAD, you need to understand those rules to make sure that you know you can be compliant, especially in any transboundary movement where equipment isn’t well tested and working,” Boswell said on the HOBI Conversations podcast.
One Rule to Govern Them All
Large-scale ITAD rules operate on a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Because the Basel Convention strictly controls trade, the same rules that apply to Fortune 500 companies also apply to small businesses that may lack the resources of larger corporations. This is where being involved comes in handy. Involvement in organizations like ReMa that track rules and issues before they take effect gives companies time to be proactive and ensure compliance before regulations go into effect. Another factor is that being uninformed can lead to shipping delays and non-compliance, which also puts clients in jeopardy.
Critical Materials Are Critical for a Reason
On July 20, the U.S. government passed EO 14415, which made it significantly more difficult to secure statutory waivers to purchase critical minerals from “unreliable foreign suppliers.” According to Boswell, this is another area in which the industry could use stronger advocacy.
“We’re not going to have cell phones, and we’re not going to have EVs, and we’re not going to have robots if we don’t have neodymium and cobalt and all these materials. The question is unintended consequences that can happen from these types of things,” Boswell said.
In 2006, the RoHS regulations went into effect, banning electronics containing high levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, and other hazardous materials from entering the European market. The goal was to prevent harmful materials from polluting the environment; however, lead and circuit boards were heavily recycled at the time because of their valuable materials. The switch to no-lead solder required higher melting temperatures, and every electronics manufacturing facility used more energy.
Some executive orders with good intentions are worth discussing, but discussion is essential to ensure true success. Boswell stated in the podcast, “If the supply exceeds the processing capabilities of the domestic processors, then we’re building up supply and driving down prices because there’s no demand, and now we’re not as incentivized to go collect these materials because we don’t have a place to get it processed. This is an area where experts in the market can really help through advocacy to make sure that decisions that accomplish the ultimate objective are really sound.”
Domestic Legislation Your ITAD Partner Should Be Tracking
Many laws require tracking, but Boswell highlighted two in particular that ITAD providers should actively monitor.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) – The DMCA often flies under the radar, but is a critical component to successful ITAD operations. One of the biggest challenges in the ITAD industry is phone locks. Specifically, devices locked to the manufacturer must be returned to the OEM to be unlocked. The DMCA was put in place to protect media from piracy by preventing people from hacking or bypassing unique software. However, it also restricts ITAD processors like HOBI from remarketing these devices. Many people don’t realize you can petition every three years for an exemption that allows bulk unlocking of carrier-locked cell phones and laptops so they can be traded freely.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – EPR legislation for battery-containing devices has surged. EPR laws force manufacturers to cover electronics recycling costs, but that wasn’t always the case. Traditionally, devices like cell phones and laptops were excluded from EPR laws because of batteries, but that is quickly changing. Most electronics today contain Lithium-Ion batteries that can easily end up in the municipal waste stream and cause fires. According to Boswell, this is a subject recyclers need to advocate about.
“Some proposed legislation has restrictions that might rule out existing great programs that are happening because they force all the recycling to go through a specific organization. If you have a great program where you’re collecting scooters or whatever it is, you want to make sure that that legislation doesn’t rule out that program, and advocate for the fact that existing programs and the broader recycling infrastructure are not negatively impacted,” Boswell said.
Advocacy Opportunities in Legislative Movements
There are many things to advocate for in the ITAD space, but one thing emerging is funding. For many privately held businesses, the instinct is to step away from regulation, but these programs still have a role. Recycling materials is expensive and can generally hurt the economy, but without recycling programs to fund proper disposal, products with little resale value get filtered into municipal waste even if they contain batteries or other hazardous materials.
“We’re seeing the same type of thing around solar panels. They have recycling value, but they’re large, they’re heavy, they’re difficult to transport. Across the entire recycling chain, there is a net negative economic impact. So how are we going to pay for that? Will it be three extra cents on your electrical bill if we go to complete solar in our state, or will it be the manufacturers that are responsible? That’s going to require a public-private partnership of some sort to create a funding mechanism to make that happen,” said Boswell.
Look for HOBI at E-Scrap 2026
Craig Boswell will speak at E-Scrap 2026 on Tuesday, Oct. 26, about advocacy in the industry and why it’s becoming increasingly important. Listen to the full podcast episode of HOBI Conversations Ep.6 now, and contact HOBI at 877-814-2620 or sales@hobi.com for information on responsible, compliant e-waste management.