According to the lawsuit, from 2015 through 2021 discarded electronics were found in Walmart compactors in over a dozen California counties. | Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
California’s attorney general and several district attorneys this week filed suit against Walmart, alleging the major retailer routinely improperly disposes of e-scrap and other hazardous waste. The company told E-Scrap News the state’s demands go beyond what’s required by law.
OLED televisions are among the devices California regulators are planning to add to the state’s e-scrap program. | ZikG/Shutterstock
California regulators are planning to add OLED display devices, LCD smart displays and LCD tablets to the state’s e-scrap program.
In California, many products will soon need to meet a 60% recycling rate to be considered “recyclable.” | Donald Walker / Shutterstock
Electronics manufacturers may be barred from telling consumers about certain device take-back programs in California, under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law this month.
California legislators recently approved legislation regulating labeling on plastic packaging, with implications for electronics as well. | Bobkeenan Photography / Shutterstock
California legislation targeting how plastic packaging is labeled also affects recycling labels for consumer electronics, according to industry groups.
Each year, CalRecycle staff determine whether they need to raise, lower or maintain the fees consumers pay to fund the state’s electronics recycling program. | Somchai Som / Shutterstock
California officials say they will have enough money to continue running the state’s e-scrap recycling program without hiking fees.
The Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling made a range of preliminary recommendations to state regulators and lawmakers late last month. | PK Studio/Shutterstock
A high-profile recycling commission in California has published its endorsement of right-to-repair policies.
California officials are testing a variety of electronic devices to measure the concentrations of metals and compare them to the thresholds listed in the California Code of Regulations. | Sorbis/Shutterstock
E-scrap processors in California could get paid by the state to recycle additional types of electronic devices, depending on the outcome of toxicity testing by officials.
Walgreens recently agreed to pay $3.50 million to settle a lawsuit alleging company employees dropped electronics, batteries and other hazardous materials into dumpsters headed to municipal landfills. | Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
Retailers in recent months have agreed to pay over $8 million to settle accusations they illegally landfilled electronics and other hazardous waste in California. In one case, trashed e-scrap was suspected to have ignited two fires.
CalRecycle staff said their recommendation to raise payment rates was based on updated cost data submitted by e-scrap collectors and processors, as well as other factors. | DAMRONG RATTANAPONG/Shutterstock
Citing difficult market conditions and rising costs for the industry, California officials will greatly increase the rates they pay e-scrap firms to collect and recycle electronics.
Data shows that the total pounds processed through California’s electronics recycling program have been falling since 2012. | Boonchuay1970/Shutterstock
This article has been corrected.
Over the past three years, fewer of California’s CRTs are going directly to hazardous waste landfills and more are flowing through intermediate glass processors, state data shows. But that may not mean more glass is ultimately being recycled.