A relatively new organization calling itself the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling is urging Congress to pass the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act – and is specifically calling for restrictions on the export of electronic scrap to developing countries. The CAER includes a growing roster of 29 U.S. electronics recycling firms, which operate 74 recycling facilities in 34 states, and includes...

The California Attorney General announced today the state has filed a lawsuit against ENSO Plastics, Aquamantra and Balance Water for allegedly falsely claiming their plastic bottles were biodegradable. Accusing the companies of exploiting Californians' environmental concerns, Attorney General Kamala Harris says labeling on the products that describes the bottles as biodegradable is not supported by evidence, and misleads consumers into...

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries unveiled the results of a comprehensive survey of the U.S. electronics recycling industry at the 2011 E-Scrap Conference held in Orlando, Florida. Eric Harris, director of government and international affairs for ISRI, told attendees at the opening conference plenary session that that the organization undertook the survey in response to growing speculation and a...

Two executives of a Colorado electronics recycling firm were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to allegations that it illegally exported over 100,000 end-of-life CRTs overseas. According to the indictment, between 2005 and 2009, Brandon Richter, owner and chief executive officer of Executive Recycling, and Tor Olson, its former vice president of operations, presented ER as a...

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has signed SB 212 into law, which simplifies some of the reporting requirements under the state's bottle bill. Most residents in the state won't notice a difference, but the bill aims to ease the burden of complying with the program on small bottlers and manufacturers operating in Connecticut. Under the new rules, manufacturers who use fewer...

*Updates to this story appear at the bottom of the page* Illinois-based electronics recycling firm Intercon Solutions has become the first processor to be denied e-Stewards Certification for what the Basel Action Network says is "compelling evidence" that the company exported electronic waste to Hong Kong. In a letter to Intercon CEO Brian Brundage dated June 28, BAN executive director...

A handful of Congress members are taking another stab at better controlling the stream of e-scrap being exported out of the U.S. to developing countries. The measure has the support of some large electronic manufacturers and environmental groups, but one recycling trade organization remains skeptical. Democratic U.S. Representatives Gene Green of Texas and Mike Thompson of California introduced the Responsible...

California's e-waste recycling program has reached a new milestone: Since the legislation establishing the program became law six years ago, it has recycled its 1 billionth pound of obsolete electronics. Although California was the first state to pass an e-waste law, an article in The San Jose Mercury News points out that it remains the only to require consumers to...

A Massachusetts-based recycling firm has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that five large plastics companies and the American Chemistry Council have illegally conspired against the company, resulting in harm to its business. Evergreen Partnering Group, Inc. (EPG), a North Reading, Massachusetts company that offers a patent-pending closed-loop recycling method for polystyrene trays designed for large school systems and...

Closed Loop Refining & Recovery has completed Phase One of a new CRT glass processing expansion at its 120,000-square-foot facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The facility is equipped to process upwards of 3,000 tons of CRT glass per month and includes both CRT separation and glass processing. Closed Loop is scheduled to complete Phase Two of the roll-out in early 2011,...