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...

Year-over-year expenditures for California's Beverage Container Recycling Fund exceed revenues by approximately $100 million, according to data presented at a recent Container Recycling Institute webinar. One part of the problem is that California's recycling program has been too successful. In order to maintain solvency, the state's current break-even point for the beverage container recycling program requires a maximum recycling rate...

Houston's proposal to build a dirty MRF has been selected as one of 20 finalists by Bloomberg Philanthropies in its Mayors Challenge, a competition meant to encourage cities to come up with ideas to solve problems facing urban communities. The city that wins the grand prize will receive $5 million, while four runner-up cities will receive $1 million each. Houston...

The polls have closed, the pundits are silent (sort of) and the ballots have been counted. But one question remains: What to do with all those political yard signs? All across the country, people are taking down signs expressing their support for candidates and causes. And in some parts of the country, efforts are under way to collect and recycle...