Several trends are negatively affecting North American export markets for recovered materials, including what appears to be the return of China's Green Fence customs initiative. The surprise move by the Chinese government to devalue its currency – the yuan – has led to consternation by North American recycling shippers. The devaluation of the yuan makes the U.S. dollar even stronger....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency convened a meeting of some 50 key electronics recycling parties last week near Washington, D.C. to receive advice and input. The meeting — the first "EPA Summit on Electronics" since 2005 — included representatives of original equipment manufacturers, states, nonprofit organizations, e-scrap reclaimers and trade groups. The two-day session focused on two concerns. EPA sought...

Last week E-Scrap News reported on several warehouses in Arizona and Colorado where large amounts of CRTs were left behind when the plants closed. Two firms — Dow Management and Luminous Recycling — shut their doors, leaving as much as 10,000 tons of CRTs and CRT glass. Now E-Scrap News has learned of an abandoned warehouse in Baltimore containing approximately...

As part of an investigation into CRT glass recycling markets, E-Scrap News has learned that recycling processors in several states have abandoned operations after charging CRT suppliers and filling up a handful of warehouses with more than 10,000 tons of CRTs and CRT glass. State officials are now struggling with how to manage these problems. Possibly the most serious of...

China no longer wants to receive garbage from other countries. As a result, enhanced import inspections by Chinese customs officials have led to severe recycling market confusion worldwide, especially for shippers of recovered paper and plastics. China's new president, Xi Jinping, says that checking containers of recyclables for waste must be a top priority for customs officials. Existing regulations limit...

China no longer wants to receive garbage from other countries. As a result, enhanced import inspections by Chinese customs officials have led to severe recycling market confusion worldwide, especially for shippers of recovered plastics. China's new president, Xi Jinping, says that checking containers of recyclables for waste must be a top priority for customs officials. Existing regulations limit the amount...

Resource Recycling doesn't publish obituaries nor print memorials for those recycling leaders who have passed. The principal reason is we do not want to judge who should be honored and who should not. Each and every person who has left us deserves accolades. But I now break this rule for one key reason. If there ever is a person this...