Apple’s earbuds get a zero on the repairability scale, and scrap writer Adam Minter is planning another book.
Apple’s earbuds get a zero on the repairability scale, and scrap writer Adam Minter is planning another book.
Another sentence has been handed out in the U.K.’s largest-ever bust of illegal e-scrap exports.
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 and other electronics, to Ghana, Nigeria and Pakistan, all while telling customers the items were being refurbished or recycled responsibly. Separate convictions for five individuals and three companies were handed down in connection with the allegations in November, 2011. Additionally, two defendants are awaiting sentencing and a third is still at large.
“This has been a long and complex investigation to bring to book criminals who have flouted the law, risking people’s health in developing countries and undercutting legitimate recycling businesses in the U.K.,” said Jeff Warburton, an investigator working on the case. “Working in partnership with the authorities in Nigeria and Belgium, we have successfully stopped these illegal exporters. But we won’t stop there – we will continue to track down environmental criminals.”
The penalties are the result of a three-year investigation by the Environment Agency and a legal process that has been ongoing since October 2010.
Ghana’s infamous Agbogbloshie area has become “an international byword for ‘African e-waste dumping,'” journalist Adam Minter writes in a recent article.
The recovery rate for consumer electronics in the U.S. jumped sharply in 2013, but it’s unclear whether more robust data accounts for the uptick, a newly released U.S. EPA report states.
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.
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.
Coming off a year of record battery collections, Call2Recycle is now looking to expand consumer take-back points and move into more markets.
New regulations are coming for exporters of CRTs, and an e-scrap collection program in Illinois comes back strong.
Japan is anticipating a glut of solar panels, and India wants to set up e-scrap recycling facilities in every state.