Samsung begins selling refurbished phones, and the Zika virus is affecting exports.
Breach of contract: The Howard County Recycling District, located in Indiana, is suing Great Lakes Electronics, a recycling firm, for breach of contract. According to the Kokomo Perspective newspaper, the electronics company was supposed to pay the county for electronics removal. That arrangement was no longer profitable, however, and Great Lakes started sending the district invoices and eventually stopped collecting material.
Refurbished phones: According to Reuters, Samsung is going to start selling refurbished versions of its smartphones. The phones will come from customers who turn in their phones during upgrade programs.
Battery fire: In other Samsung news, Computer World reports on a recall of the Samsung Note 7 smartphone because of battery fires. Samsung said of the 1 million phones sold, only 24 have the faulty battery.
Zika protection: China is requiring anti-mosquito fumigation treatments on all shipments from the U.S.The Wall Street Journal reports it is an attempt to eliminate mosquito breeding sites and prevent the spread of Zika and other diseases.
CRT regulations: California wants to extend emergency regulations regarding CRT and CRT glass disposal. If they aren’t re-approved, the extended disposal options will expire Sept. 15.
Project Ara: Google has suspended plans for a modular smartphone, says Computer World. Project Ara would have allowed users to customize their phones with interchangeable Lego-like blocks. Google may still sell the phone via licensing deals.
E-Cycle Washington: Washington’s state e-scrap program collected 3.8 million pounds of electronics for recycling in the month of August. Year-to-date, the E-Cycle program has collected 25.5 million pounds of TVs, computers and monitors, which is 87 percent of what was collected during the same period last year.
