Bottle bills on the move this legislative session

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

In Texas, a handful of lawmakers are crossing their fingers that the Lone Star State will pass a bottle bill, in Hawaii, a measure seeks to roll back the state’s bottle bill and California looks to reform its beverage container redemption program.

A pair of bills in the Texas Legislature, one in the House and one in the Senate, would establish a container deposit system for beer, soda, water, energy drinks, juice, tea and other bottles and cans for common beverages.

A legislative staffer speaking to Resource Recycling on background said that the bill was written to have few government mandates and requirements. The entire system would be overseen by a consortium of stakeholders appointed by the governor, and retailers would not be required to redeem bottles and cans. Instead, the bill is written to allow the market to drive the collection infrastructure, said the staffer, and local governments and private entities would be allowed to apply to open redemption centers.

The bill had a hearing last week in the House Environmental Regulation Committee, and no vote has been taken on it yet.

"We realize that there is very strong opposition from the retailers association, which is always an obstacle," said Nate Walker, chief of staff for Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, an Austin Democrat sponsoring the measure. "But there’s also a lot of great support behind the bill from environmental and industry organizations."

Walker said that his boss is making the bill’s passage a priority and is trying to wrangle up the votes.

Meanwhile, in Hawaii, a resolution has been sponsored that calls for winding down the state’s bottle bill and replacing it with curbside recycling. The text of the resolution states that the program is not fiscally sustainable and points to past audits that have found chronic mismanagement.

No action has been taken on this legislation so far.

According to a report in American Metal Market (subscription only), one California lawmaker is expecting will be sponsoring a proposal to expand and reform the Golden State's successful beverage container redemption program. According to AMM, The proposal is expected to be heard by the California State Assembly's Natural Resources Committee on April 29 and includes such reforms as adding large (over 46 ounces) beverage containers to the program; updating reporting systems; and expanding market-based incentives for processing and manufacturing materials from the collected beverage containers.

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Industry groups issue CRT challenge

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, the Consumer Electronics Association and InnoCentive have announced a new competition to identify new, financially-viable ways to recycle CRT glass.

Proposals for the CRT Challenge will be accepted until June 30, with the winning proposal selected based on its economic and environmental benefits. A $10,000 prize, plus assistance in commercializing the proposal, will go to the winner.

Winners of last year's CRT Challenge (on which the CEA partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund and InnoCentive) were Spanish environmental engineer Mario Rosato, for a closed-loop leaded glass separation process; Manchester, England-based Nulife Glass, for an emissions-minimizing CRT glass furnace; and New Mexico-based mechanical engineer Robert Kirby, whose proposal involved combining CRT glass with cement to create a composite building material. The three winning proposals were selected from over 350 applicants, and organizers are expecting increased competition for this year's competition.

In related news, the CEA has also partnered with the Northeast Recycling Council to gather more data on the CRT management practices in the U.S. The two organizations have launched a survey, with relevant organizations urged to submit responses before April 5.

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NewsBits

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The most recent effort to pass a bottle bill in Maryland has failed, reports The Baltimore Sun. The legislation was opposed by beverage and retail interests, as well as by the state's counties who would be tasked with operating redemptions centers.

A Tennessee city has backed out of its agreement with RecycleBank, the recycling promotion program. Officials at the City of Alcoa say the recycling program did not attain its subscription goals and that some users were displeased with the rewards system. City managers say the number of local merchants taking part in the RecycleBank effort declined in recent months. Also, the City of Knoxville is considering changes to, or possibly dropping the rewards-based recycling program, given that participation in the incentives program is around 15 percent.

A new report from the Multi-State Mercury Products Campaign and the Product Stewardship Institute has found that a manufacturer-run program aimed at collecting mercury thermostats is failing to keep the toxic metal out of the waste stream and the environment in most states. The industry program has captured 8 percent of mercury thermostats coming out of service in the past decade, according to the report, resulting in the disposal of over 50 tons of the toxin into the environment. The report also faults 10 states with mercury collection laws, with only Maine and Vermont having programs that were more effective than having no program at all.

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Platos Table, a maker of reusable food containers, is spearheading an effort to eliminate polystyrene containers. Over 20 local restaurants have posted decals in their storefront windows signaling to diners that they can bring in their own containers for take-out.

We missed April Fool's Day this year, but we didn't miss this gem from Waste Management World — a machine that takes trash and spins it not just into energy, but into gold. Coming soon to a MRF near you, we're sure.

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Industry groups issue CRT challenge

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, the Consumer Electronics Association and InnoCentive have announced a new competition to identify new, financially-viable ways to recycle CRT glass.

Proposals for the CRT Challenge will be accepted until June 30, with the winning proposal selected based on its economic and environmental benefits. A $10,000 prize, plus assistance in commercializing the proposal, will go to the winner.

Winners of last year's CRT Challenge (on which the CEA partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund and InnoCentive) were Spanish environmental engineer Mario Rosato, for a closed-loop leaded glass separation process; Manchester, England-based Nulife Glass, for an emissions-minimizing CRT glass furnace; and New Mexico-based mechanical engineer Robert Kirby, whose proposal involved combining CRT glass with cement to create a composite building material. The three winning proposals were selected from over 350 applicants, and organizers are expecting increased competition for this year's competition.

In related news, the CEA has also partnered with the Northeast Recycling Council to gather more data on the CRT management practices in the U.S. The two organizations have launched a survey, with relevant organizations urged to submit responses before April 5.

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EPEAT switches on new TV registry

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

HDTVs and Smart TVs are now covered by the EPEAT registry according to an announcement April 2 from the green electronics ratings organization.

Launching with 53 models from LG and 71 from Samsung, these types of TVs must meet at least two dozen separate environmental performance criteria to be included in the registry. Higher ratings can be awarded to televisions that meet an additional 29 criteria.

Based on the IEEE 1680.3 specifications for televisions, the new criteria were developed over the past four years with the input from hundreds of stakeholders in the consumer electronics, government, research, recycling and environmental sectors. EPEAT's HDTV and Smart TV specifications cover materials selection in product design, the use of environmentally-sensitive materials, design for end-of-life, product longevity, energy use, end-of-life management procedures, broader company performance and packaging.

"As a long-time EPEAT partner for computer monitors, we recognize the value of this important program in educating consumers about sustainable products," said LG Electronics USA president and CEO Wayne Park. "LG is proud to be among the first to meet EPEAT's new TV criteria for listings on the definitive global registry for greener electronics."

The addition of HD televisions and Smart TVs is the latest product expansion for EPEAT, which recently rolled out product ratings for printers and imaging equipment. Since the green electronics rating system debuted in 2006, over 533 million EPEAT-registered products have been sold around the world.

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Value of recovered circuit boards continue to slide

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

Sharp declines in the prices of precious metals and an uptick in inflation drove the average value of scrap circuit boards down in March.

At $7.65 per pound, the average value of the materials in recovered electronic scrap in March was 2.2 percent below the average value in February, and down 4.2 percent since the start of the year. Any gains in the average value of scrap circuit boards over the course of the past year have been erased, with the March average down 3.7 percent versus the March 2012 average. Much of this can be attributed to declines in the value of scrap metals. For instance, the average price of copper has declined 12.6 percent since the start of 2013, and 9.4 percent since March of last year. Gold and silver prices have also been steadily declining for the past six months.

This data represents the full metallic values of boards over time and are not the recycling values, as those values do not include the costs involved in actually extracting metal from boards, including freight, sampling charges, assay assessments, smelting, refining, process loss, return on investment, and penalties for various elements, including beryllium, bismuth and nickel.

These values are for the estimated intrinsic metal content of recovered PC boards. Some consumers label such material as mid-value. Lower-value scrap includes monitor and television boards. Higher-value scrap includes network and video cards, and motherboards.

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Massachusetts e-scrap bill moves closer to passage

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

In Massachusetts, a joint legislative committee has passed a bill that would make electronics manufacturers responsible for collecting and recycling their used products.

Last week, a panel of lawmakers approved a measure that would place Massachusetts alongside the two dozen states that have laws to manage and recycle unwanted electronics.
During a hearing on Senate Bill 386, which immediately preceded a vote on it, Phillip Sego, acting chair of legislative action at the Massachusetts Sierra Club, told lawmakers that, although collection events for used electronics are routinely held in the state, many residents still opt to put their unwanted devices in the trash. Sego also said that an e-scrap law would create jobs.

However, David Thompson, director of the corporate environmental program at Panasonic Corp., said that his company has a difficult time with the patchwork of regulations from states and that regulatory burdens hinder growth and competitiveness. He instead recommended that companies and policymakers collaborate on finding ways to recycle more electronics without burdening business.

Panasonic is a member of the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company (MRM), alongside Mitsubishi Electric, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba and Vizio.

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Certification scorecard

With the roster of companies attaining third-party certifications or audits continuing to grow, E-Scrap News has compiled a round-up of the firms announcing certification this past week.

• ECOvanta's facility in Philadelphia is now certified to ISO 14001, R2 and e-Stewards.
• Recycle Emirates of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and SECURE IT Asset Disposition Services of Mentor, Ohio, are now R2 certified.
• ASDD a Division of TCH of Tempe, Arizona; Goodwill Easter Seals of the Gulf Coast of Mobile, Alabama; IntelliShred LLC of Frenchtown, New Jersey; Proshred San Diego of San Diego; Proshred Security of Crestwood, Illinois; Shred Confidential, Inc. of Anaheim, California; and XpresShred LLC of Englewood, Colorado have either achieved or renewed their NAID Certification for Physical Destruction of Hard Drives.
• Also, e-End of Frederick, Maryland; EPC's E-Scrap Processing Center of Earth City, Missouri and Materials Processing Corporation of Mendota Heights, Minnesota have renewed their NAID Certification for Computer Hard Drive Sanitization and Physical Destruction of Hard Drives.

Has your firm recently completed a CHWMEG audit or an ISO 9001, ISO 14001, R2, RIOS or e-Stewards certification? Email henry@resource-recycling.com to be included in this section and in E-Scrap News' quarterly directory.

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NewsBits

Wednesday was the 40th anniversary of the cell phone and Wired breaks down the 12 most influential models — many of which are no doubt still trickling through e-scrap processing facilities somewhere.

Starting in July, Colorado residents who drag old TVs and other electronics to the curb for disposal will find the device unmoved and with a sticker slapped on it that reads, "Devices like this are prohibited from Colorado landfills according to the Electronic Recycling Jobs Act," reports The Denver Post, describing the state's soon-to-be-implemented e-scrap law and options available to consumers.

If you have a stake in a rebound of the personal computer industry, Gartner has some bad news for you. The market research firm says it expects traditional PCs (x86-based desktops and notebooks) to decline 7.6 percent this year versus 2012, and that this is part of a sustained long-term trend, independent of the broader economy.

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Indiana recycling advocates fight back

By Henry Leineweber, Resource Recycling

Thanks to the efforts of a coalition of stakeholders, recycling funding may soon be restored in Indiana, but those hoping for a container deposit law or other recycling initiative still face an uphill battle.

On the surface, these are not good times for recycling in the Hoosier State. Statewide budget cuts in 2009 under then-Governor Mitch Daniels froze 90 percent of Indiana's recycling fund, with the 50-cents per ton landfill disposal fee instead used to shore up state's general revenues. Lawmakers later allowed some recycling goals for the state to expire. Additionally, Republican supermajorities in both the Indiana House and Senate would seemingly dash any hope of legislation favorable to recycling. But while time is running out for the General Assembly to introduce and act on recycling legislation before it adjourns April 29, many companies, organizations and other stakeholders are urging elected officials to do just that.

A hearing held Monday by the General Assembly's joint environmental committees outlined the detrimental impact the state's low recycling rate has on both the environment and local businesses.

"There's not enough scrap plastic in Indiana to feed our plant, let alone grow it," said Perpetual Recycling Solutions CEO David Bender to the assembled lawmakers.

Perpetual Recycling Solutions, which recently completed a large PET recycling plant in the state, is one of the companies that is calling for the legislature to take steps to improve recycling, citing estimates of nearly $60 million worth of recyclable materials being dumped in Indiana landfills annually, due to lack of adequate recycling service. Improving recycling in the state, they argue, would create jobs and provide other economic benefits.

"In 2011, Perpetual Recycling Solutions leveraged a $50,000 recycling grant along with a $30 million investment in a new PET plastic processing facility in Richmond. We have already created 75 jobs and hope to expand. However, expansion requires Indiana to capture more of its PET plastic feedstock," Bender said in an accompanying statement to Governor Mike Pence.

The Indiana Recycling Coalition has requested Governor Pence reinstate the recycling fund at a level of $3.2 million per year, which according to IRC executive director Carey Hamilton, may soon be restored.

"We were thrilled with the positive comments we got from the Governor's Office," said Hamilton in an interview with Plastics Recycling Update.  "We found out [April 4th] that the budget that has just passed out of committee includes our funding request.  Now we just need to work to make sure it's included in the final budget."

In addition to Perpetual Recycling, IRC's call for a reinstatement of recycling funds was aided by some important supporters.

Aluminum giant Alcoa, which employs 3,200 in Indiana, showed up in support, with Beth Schmitt, director of recycling for the company saying, "Alcoa strongly supports this request to reinstate Indiana's recycling fund. Recycling is both an environmental and business priority for our company. We believe that new investments in recycling programs and infrastructure will result in higher aluminum recycling rates which in turn will save energy, save resources and create jobs."

In testifying before the committee, Stephen Segebarth, a vice president for the North American division of multinational glass container giant Verallia, went so far as to advocate for a bottle bill in the state, explaining that bottles manufactured at the company's Dunkirk, Indiana site use only 15-20 percent recycled glass cullet, and that most of that material is sourced from container deposit programs in Michigan and Canada. The entire glass industry in the state employs approximately 1,600 workers.

Other recycling supporters echoed the desire for container deposit legislation in the state. A representative from Ball State University's Bowen Center for Public Affairs cited new findings from the university that show more than 70 percent of Indiana residents support a potential bottle bill — with that support rising to over 90 percent for those residents between ages 18-24.

Support also came from the Indiana Farm Bureau, which urged a container deposit bill or other recycling action that would help keep bottle and container litter out of farm machinery.

However, others in attendance were opposed to any type of bottle bill. The American Beverage Association, along with representatives from the grocery and retail industry, testified that beverage containers only account for 7 percent of the waste stream, and that stores wouldn't tolerate such a program.

Other elected representatives in attendance hardly warmed to the idea of new recycling efforts by the state.

"I don't like mandates, bans and bottle bills. My goal is to find some way to make recycling happen without a bottle bill," said House Environmental Affairs chairman David Wolkins (R-Warsaw), although he added he's now gone "from adamantly opposed to just opposed."

While Indiana's recycling funding may soon be restored, further action to improve recycling in the state faces an uphill battle.  Sources tell Plastics Recycling Update that the legislature will likely create a study committee to focus on new recycling ideas while the rest of the General Assembly is adjourned, and that all recycling options, including a container deposit program, could be considered.  The Indiana General Assembly adjourns April 29 and will reconvene next January.

"We're very pleased with the broad support for recycling we're seeing right now," says Hamilton.  "Our next step is to work with these stakeholders to find common ground on a recycling plan we can all be happy with."

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PetroChem Wire: Recycled polystyrene prices down a penny in March

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

Recycled HIPS and GPPS prices fell a penny in March as demand weakened and some end-users continued to look at substitute material, including rPET and prime PS, which showed signs of softening.

GPPS natural/clear pellet was offered at 58-60 cents per pound and HIPS MC was offered at 71-73 cents per pound, but were met with little interest from would-be buyers in late March. On regrind material, GPPS black was offered at approximately 41-42 cents and also met with tepid buying interest. HIPS MC regrind was offered at 57-59 cents per pound, down a penny from February offers. In the prime polystyrene market, U.S. prices held steady in March but demand was sluggish as buyers focused on the prospect of lower prices to start the second quarter. Contract discussions had not begun in earnest in the final days of March though.

For more information about PetroChem Wire's Repro/Regrind Resin Report and daily prime grade polymers and monomers report, or to arrange a free trial subscription, contact Cindy Bryan at cindy@petrochemwire.com or (713) 385-1407. To see sample issues of PCW publications, click here.

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Procter & Gamble goes zero waste

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

Procter & Gamble, a maker of personal care products and containers, has announced that 45 of its manufacturing facilities worldwide send no waste to landfills.

The recent milestone is part of the company's long-term goal of sending no manufacturing or consumer waste to landfills. According to the company, its waste-reduction efforts, which include incineration for energy recovery along with recycling, have created over $1 billion in value for P&G. Less than one percent of all materials entering P&G sites globally are sent to landfill, with the company diverting nearly all plastic scrap and packaging waste generated during the manufacturing process. In 2011-12, 79 percent of all packaging waste generated by the company was recycled, compared to 69 percent recycled by Procter & Gamble in 2010-11.

"There are well-defined systems for recycling materials like paper, plastic and glass, but our product portfolio is incredibly broad, resulting in a diverse set of waste streams to find sustainable solutions for," said Dr. Forbes McDougall, who leads P&G's global zero manufacturing waste program, in a prepared statement. "We focused on finding solutions for our toughest waste streams at our largest sites, and while initially we saw progress in our overall corporate recycling, the increase in zero landfill sites was slow. Today, we have found ways to divert most of our major waste streams away from landfill, so we're now seeing new sites achieve zero manufacturing waste to landfill nearly every month."

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Bottle bills on the move this legislative session

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

In Texas, a handful of lawmakers are crossing their fingers that the Lone Star State will pass a bottle bill, in Hawaii, a measure seeks to roll back the state’s bottle bill and California looks to reform its beverage container redemption program.

A pair of bills in the Texas Legislature, one in the House and one in the Senate, would establish a container deposit system for beer, soda, water, energy drinks, juice, tea and other bottles and cans for common beverages.

A legislative staffer speaking to Plastics Recycling Update on background said that the bill was written to have few government mandates and requirements. The entire system would be overseen by a consortium of stakeholders appointed by the governor, and retailers would not be required to redeem bottles and cans. Instead, the bill is written to allow the market to drive the collection infrastructure, said the staffer, and local governments and private entities would be allowed to apply to open redemption centers.

The bill had a hearing last week in the House Environmental Regulation Committee, and no vote has been taken on it yet.

"We realize that there is very strong opposition from the retailers association, which is always an obstacle," said Nate Walker, chief of staff for Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, an Austin Democrat sponsoring the measure. "But there’s also a lot of great support behind the bill from environmental and industry organizations."

Walker said that his boss is making the bill’s passage a priority and is trying to wrangle up the votes.

Meanwhile, in Hawaii, a resolution has been sponsored that calls for winding down the state’s bottle bill and replacing it with curbside recycling. The text of the resolution states that the program is not fiscally sustainable and points to past audits that have found chronic mismanagement.

No action has been taken on this legislation so far.

According to a report in American Metal Market (subscription only), one California lawmaker is expecting will be sponsoring a proposal to expand and reform the Golden State's successful beverage container redemption program. According to AMM, The proposal is expected to be heard by the California State Assembly's Natural Resources Committee on April 29 and includes such reforms as adding large (over 46 ounces) beverage containers to the program; updating reporting systems; and expanding market-based incentives for processing and manufacturing materials from the collected beverage containers.

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Patent watch

Adam and Amy Mosier of Austin, Texas have filed Patent Application No. 20130080285, which describes a method of using thin plastic pellets as a decorative filler in the manufacture of some products.

A team of inventors led by Wei Liu of Pittsburgh, has developed a pigment to be used in the manufacture of plastic bottles that can be filtered out of the product during the recycling process. Their methods are outlined in Patent Application No. 20130071592.

Camarillo, California-based Rareform LLC has filed Patent Application No. 20130071046. The firm has developed a method of recycling plastic signs into bags and film.

For more information on these or any patents, please consult the U.S. Patent Office database online.

Copies of patents can be ordered by number for $3 each from the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1450.

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NewsBits

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Platos Table, a maker of reusable food containers, is spearheading an effort to eliminate polystyrene containers. Over 20 local restaurants have posted decals in their storefront windows signaling to diners that they can bring in their own containers for take-out.

The American Chemistry Council's Center for the Polyurethanes Industry is seeking nominees for the 2013 Polyurethane Innovation Awards. Candidates can include finished products, initiatives, training or education programs, or processes or processing equipment, and must be nominated no later than June 18. The award winner will be announced at the 2013 Polyurethanes Conference in Phoenix, September 23-25.

Elmer's Products, Inc. has made a line of ecologically-minded glue from only naturally-occurring ingredients that is available in recycled packaging. The bottle for Elmer's School Glue Naturals is made from 25 percent post-consumer recycled material, and the label contains 20 percent recycled paper.

Hilex Poly, a company that manufactures and recycles retail plastic bags and other film products, has acquired portions of the North American Flexible Packaging division of Amsterdam-based Clondalkin Group. The acquisition, which is expected to bolster Hilex Poly's product line and recycling technologies, includes Fortune Plastics, Accutech Plastics and Direct Plastics Limited.

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Davy, Sims part ways

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

Graham Davy is no longer employed as CEO of Sims Recycling Solutions as of March 19, ending a six-year tenure as head of the world's largest electronics recycling company.

Sims initially said it would not comment on "human resources matters" according to Dan Strechay, director of communications and public relations for the company. However, several hours after the story first leaked, Sims confirmed in an official statement that Davy was "no longer employed by the company," but provided no explanation as to why.

Davy's exit is the most recent management shakeup at the recycling giant. Daniel Dienst, CEO of SRS parent company Sims Metal Management previously announced in late February he would be stepping down when his contract was up this June.

While there is no official linkage, both announcements come on the heels of Sims' $78 million inventory write down as a result of potential fraud at the SRS' Long Marston, England and Newport, Wales WEEE recycling facilities. Dienst had previously referred to the alleged fraud at two UK Sims facilities as "extremely disappointing" and "embarrassing."

Hans-Otto Hagemann has been appointed acting managing director of SRS Continental Europe and SRS UK.

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Michigan broker found guilty of illegal export

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The owner of a Canton, Michigan-based broker of used electronics will serve jail time after being found guilty of violating environmental laws and illegally exporting hazardous materials.

According to a statement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on March 25 U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson sentenced Mark Jeffrey Glover to 30 months in prison. Glover will also pay an additional $10,000 fine and $10,839 to his landlord.

His company, Discount Computers, Inc. (DCI), was slapped with a $2 million fine for trafficking in counterfeit goods and services. DCI was also sentenced for storing and disposing of hazardous waste without a permit. Glover pleaded guilty to the charges on his behalf and that of his company in October 2012.

DCI has warehouses in Maryland Heights, Missouri and Dayton, New Jersey. The company resold working electronics in addition to scrap components. According to the EPA, a sizable part of DCI's business involved exporting used cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors to countries in the Middle East and Asia.

Under the Mubarak regime, Egypt prohibited the importation of computer equipment which is more than five years old. While the ban was largely seen as an effort to control the flow of internet-capable technology into the country, the company nevertheless engaged in fraud in skirting the law, according to the EPA. DCI evaded this requirement by replacing the original factory labels on used CRT monitors with counterfeit labels with a more recent manufacture date. The EPA states that over a five-year period, DCI sent at least 300 shipments to Egypt valued at approximately $2.1 million — constituting more than 100,000 used CRTs monitors.

The verdict finds DCI broke federal law by knowingly using the false labels to ship the monitors. Additionally, the court found that DCI was storing hazardous waste without the necessary permits.

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West Virginia may roll back landfill ban

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

West Virginia may lift a ban on disposing of electronic devices in the state, but those hoping to do so face an uphill battle.

Sen. Craig Blair, one of the bill's sponsors, told The Associated Press that the landfill ban on electronics, which was included in the state's 2010 e-scrap law, has not had the intended effect of unwanted devices toward recycling. Instead, people are now leaving used electronics on the side of the road.

"I'd love to see recycling," Blair told The AP. "But I'd rather have hazardous materials in the landfills than I would on the sides of mountains or in the creeks."

A lobbyist representing recycling and garbage hauling companies says that the state lacks the necessary infrastructure to implement the recycling program. This problem emerged shortly after West Virginia enacted its e-scrap law and efforts to repeal it were launched the year after it went into effect.

Senate Bill 449 is currently in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but a successful repeal of the state's landfill ban still faces many hurdles.

Those opposed to a landfill ban for electronics in the state tried once before in 2011 to lift the ban, and sources speaking with E-Scrap News said most solid waste authorities and local jurisdictions are pushing to keep the ban in place.

Furthermore, SB 449 would need to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee and move into the House of Representatives by the end of the first week in April for the bill to have a chance of passing both chambers by the end of the legislative session. The West Virginia legislature is scheduled to adjourn April 13.

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BC firm charged in export case

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

British Columbia-based Electronics Recycling Canada has been charged with illegally exporting hazardous materials, including lead-acid batteries and CRT displays.

ERC, and its president Sai Feng Guan, are due to appear in provincial court April 17. The company faces 24 counts of illegally exporting material to Macau between August 14 and November 10, 2011, in violation of Canada's Export and Import of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations.

The Basel Action Network, which has been tracking the company since 2006, alleges there are many more incidents of illegal exports not included in the indictment.

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R2:2013 draft standard approved

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The R2 Technical Advisory Committee has unanimously approved the draft of the R2:2013 standard.

The new revisions aim to clarify and improve the requirements for the R2 certification. Changes present in the R2:2013 revision include clarifications of the definition of focus materials, as well as clarification that R2:2013 only permits import and export of e-scrap containing focus materials that is in compliance with the laws of both the importing and exporting country. Also covered is the role of reuse, refurbishment and EH&S procedures.

The updated standard will now go to the R2 Solutions Board of Directors for approval within the next 60 days. Responses to public comments on the draft standard will be made available later this month.

In other news from R2 Solutions, John Lingelbach has returned to his executive director role, following a medical leave of absence that began last summer. The organization's board of directors had received over 60 applications for the position when Lingelbach indicated he was interested in returning last month.

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