Workers at the Mesquite, Texas ECS Refining facility.
E-Scrap News readers are drawn to stories about processing firms, especially when those businesses are in hot water. The list below shows our most popular stories from 2018 in terms of unique page views. The bankruptcy (and related updates) of ECS Refining took four of the 10 slots on the list. And stories touching on processors named in an export report also grabbed plenty of attention.
1 | ECS Refining goes out of business
A national e-scrap processor that previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (see next story) was forced to sell assets and terminate 300 jobs under a plan approved by a federal judge in early July.
2 | ECS Refining seeks Chapter 11 protection
The news surrounding the ECS saga began in April when the firm filed for bankruptcy. At the time, the company’s CEO described the move as a strategy to avoid being taken over by a lender.
3 | A look at the fate of material left in wake of ECS
Several weeks after closure orders from a federal judge (see first story on list), e-scrap processor Dynamic Recycling inked a deal to buy assets from ECS Refining. Meanwhile, environmental and cost complications were surrounding facility cleanup efforts.
4 | Total Reclaim owners enter guilty pleas
In November, the owners of Seattle processor Total Reclaim pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy crimes, part of months of fallout from the company’s exportation of LCD devices to Hong Kong.
5 | Processors respond to BAN’s latest tracking report
Four e-scrap companies in January issued statements after being tagged by the Basel Action Network for allegedly exporting scrap printers and LCD monitors.
6 | New details emerge on Closed Loop stockpiles
Major CRT tonnages left behind by Closed Loop Refining and Recovery were sitting in warehouses in Arizona and Ohio in June as regulatory and legal action continued.
7 | ERI opens massive processing facility
ERI moved into a new Indiana location during the summer, with company leaders calling it the largest e-scrap processing plant in the world.
8 | Former e-scrap CEO sentenced to prison
The head of a failed e-scrap startup was sentenced to 10 years in prison in early October for conspiracy and fraud. He appealed, claiming ineffective representation from his court-appointed attorney.
9 | Going once, going twice: ECS customer list sold
Bankrupt processor ECS was back in the news in August when important assets from the company were snapped up by another firm in a courtroom bidding war.
10 | BAN alleges additional companies involved in exports
Basel Action Network, which has been using GPS trackers to follow used electronics, in January named six companies it says were involved in shipping scrap printers and LCD monitors to Asia. Some of those companies later issued statements (see story 5).
Photo credit: E-Scrap News file photo.
