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E-waste management is a growing concern in today’s business world. The increasing level of pollution is caused by chemical and electronic waste that causes serious damage to both the community and the environment. Taking that into consideration, the governmental department of Australia and New Zealand Ministry pointed at the environment designed AS/NZS e-waste management system. The fundamental purpose of the system is to educateand prepare companies to take proper measures for reducing and managing the production of e-waste. The standard has a comprehensive approach that helps a company to increase responsibility for the environment and community welfare. The certification is a mandatory requirement for companies that specifically belong to the e-recycling industry. Unfortunately, many small companies register their system for accreditation without knowing much about the AS 5377 Certification requirements. Today, virtual platforms are a relevant and reliable source of information. However, the amount of information available online is not enough to complete the accreditation journey. There is professional consultancy firm available, which helps to perform each step of the certification with perfection and efficiency. An expert ISO consultant will make it easy to comprehend the following clauses and requirements of the AS 5377.

What are the AS 5377 Certification requirements?

1. General requirements

As per section 1 of the certification, a company must meet all the legal requirements for safety and the environment. Section 1 offers a framework that helps companies in managing business functions as per the legal criteria. There are four major requirements, which are:
● Identification of relevant legislation and licenses
● Identification of the training needs, risk assessment, and planning for responding to emergencies
● Meeting requirements for refurbishing and disposal of equipment
● Record management and confidentiality

2. Collection and safe storage

The second section of the requirement clauses asks companies to make plans for material recovery. Accordingly, a company should accomplish –
● Waste segregation
● Storage Security
● Signage and access
● System implementation for handling electrical wastes
● Increase storage facilities to protect the wastes

3. Reuse from end-of-life

Section 3 of the certification is applicable for those companies, that recover for the reuse of end-of-life electronic equipment. Organisations, which repair and remarket on electrical equipment must consider the following items.
● Designing and implementing systems for time managing the waste generated from equipment, which is not made for re-use
● Identifying all the equipment eligible for re-use
● Implementing the right process for harvesting assemblies

4. Transportation

Section 4 sets out requirements for those companies, which transport electrical equipment for recycling, reuse, or disposal. According to this section, these companies are required to:
● Hire trained staff who know how to handle the equipment
● Ensure minimal movement of the vehicles so that stockpile can be avoided
● Record the identification of traceable waste and maintain the documents for contingency purposes

5. Separation of components

As per section 5 of the certification, components must be segregated and separated from end-of-life electrical equipment. Companies who process end-of-life electrical equipment, must identify hazardous substances, and separate them on an urgent basis.

Role of Consultants in Assistance

A company that has no prior experience in performing the activities mentioned above, needs professional assistance immediately. Each of thesestages is crucial and needs expert handling. One cannot afford to leave errors as unaccounted for as they will sabotage the audit process, which will further hinder the certification. The consultants allow the management team to successfully implement the right strategies to meet all the demands mandated by the clauses of the AS 5377 certification. Through consultation, the consultants simplify the terms and conditions. Besides that, they will conduct a gap analysis to determine whether your system already meets the requirements or needs modifications. Their support comes in form of relevant custom strategies, which make the implementation or modification round smooth and error-free for their clients. This is called gap filling. Once the system implementation is done, the consultants conduct audits and call for review meetings. The purpose is to tally the results with the investment. The review meetings are held to acquire feedback from management and utilize them to form corrective measures.

The expert consultants from ComplianceHelp offer complex solution models based on individual system requirements. Their certified professionals are available online to give guidance on the different stages of the certification process. Their service is specially crafted for maintaining 100% compliance. If reliability is your priority, consider ComplainceHelp for ISO consultancy.