In California, a panel of judges has granted a victory to a former employee of Recology who is claiming that he was improperly fired in retaliation for calling attention to fraud at the waste and recycling company. On Jan. 31, a California appeals court partially reversed a decision by the San Francisco Superior Court to effectively dismiss a lawsuit brought...

A U.S. ban on the export of some types of e-scrap to developing countries could create as many as 42,000 new jobs — at least according to a new study commissioned by the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling. The study, which was conducted by DSM Environmental Services, Inc., surveyed current CAER member companies and estimated employment at 6,850, with a...

In a blockbuster announcement yesterday, Waste Management has purchased Greenstar Recycling, the owner of a dozen materials recycling facilities (MRFs) in seven states. With the buyout solidifying Waste Management's position as America's largest processor of residential and commercial recyclables, Resource Recycling followed up with Bill Caesar, president of Waste Management Recycle America, to learn more. Recycling industry players are interested...

Microsoft alleges a recycling company willfully advertised and sold refurbished computers with unlicensed copies of its software. In the suit filed Jan. 25 against Phoenix-based E-Waste Harvesters, Inc., Microsoft says it repeatedly warned the company against using its products or trademarks that it has not authorized. Specifically, the software giant says the company advertised and sold computers with Microsoft Windows...

The Librarian of Congress has determined it is now illegal to unlock mobile phones, leaving many in the burgeoning mobile device refurbishment business scrambling to determine how the law will affect their business. The Library of Congress oversees U.S. copyright law, and as of Jan. 26 it now interprets unlocking any carrier-subsidized wireless devices as a violation of the 1998...

*Update: WM's Bill Caesar on the story behind the purchase, here. In a move that will shape the recycling industry in many parts of the country, particularly in Texas, Waste Management has bought Greenstar Recycling and all of its assets. Some say the move to sell Houston-based Greenstar Recycling, which operates 12 materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in seven states, was...

In the latest episode in a long-fought battle over where the Portland metro area's commercial and residential food scraps go, a compromise has been reached — though the fight may not be over. Ever since the Portland area began sending its food scraps to the Nature's Needs composting facility in North Plains, a small city northwest of Portland, there has...

The future is coming to desktops and can be fueled by empty soda and milk bottles, among other scrap plastics. If you paid any attention to the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, you likely read about TVs that were four times more high-definition than the one in your living room, tablet computers of all shapes and sizes —...

Montgomery, Alabama has plans to bring back curbside recycling. As part of the plan, it's also working on a new $32 million materials recovery facility to be built by Florida-based Imperium Energy. According to a report in the Montgomery Advertiser, the company has retained Bulk Handling Systems to design the system that will sort about 80 percent of the city's...

Penalties have been handed down in the case involving the largest criminal network ever uncovered by the U.K. Environment Agency. A total of 220,000 GBP ($354,266) in fines have been levied on eight individuals and three companies in connection with an electronic waste trafficking scam. The individuals and companies in question illegally exported 496 tons of scrap televisions, refrigerators, computers...