The Recycletronics stockpile in Akron, Iowa was cleaned up in 2022, and the U.S. EPA is seeking to recover costs from companies that allegedly supplied CRTs to the site. | Photo courtesy U.S. EPA
Five recycling companies have agreed to pay relatively small sums to the U.S. EPA to settle claims that they supplied minor quantities of cathode ray tube materials to failed processor Recycletronics, which abandoned stockpiles throughout Iowa and Nebraska. Continue Reading
Closed Loop abandoned hundreds of millions of pounds of cathode ray tube glass, spurring years of legal battles. | Courtesy of consulting firm AECOM
An Ohio county judge has ordered Closed Loop Refining & Recovery and Closed Loop Glass to pay civil penalties to the state in what Ohio’s attorney general called the “final chapter” in the massive CRT stockpile cleanup case in that state. Continue Reading
The scheme revolved around disposing of high-value electronics as scrap for recycling, and then reselling the devices for their higher market values. | Koy Hipster/Shutterstock
Three individuals have pleaded guilty to a scheme through which used electronics from The Ohio State University were artificially undervalued and disposed of as “scrap,” only for the downstream vendors to turn around and sell them for higher values and pay kickbacks to the manager of the university’s surplus department. Continue Reading
Li-Cycle has filed for bankruptcy in both Canadian and American courts after a tumultuous few years. | Around The World Photos/Shutterstock
Canadian battery processor Li-Cycle filed for bankruptcy, after warning for months of impending financial trouble, and is continuing to try to find a buyer that will allow it to continue operations. Continue Reading
Camston Wrather owes creditors more than $100 million, according to the bankruptcy trustee. | Photo Lab/Shutterstock
The trustee overseeing circuit board processor Camston Wrather’s bankruptcy has asked the court to dismiss the case altogether, saying that no buyers are interested in a full-facility sale, cash reserves are drying up fast, and parting it out for specific equipment sales will not provide meaningful recovery for creditors. Continue Reading
The California-based company developed printed circuit board processing technology and owned ITAD firm Stream Recycling Solutions. | Raigvi/Shutterstock
Camston Wrather, a California-headquartered company that developed printed circuit board processing technology and owned ITAD firm Stream Recycling Solutions, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this month, indicating the company will liquidate its assets to pay creditors. Continue Reading
The thefts involved laptops, tablets, smartphones and more, retired from government agencies and contractors. | Suttirat Wiriyanon/Shutterstock
A driver who worked on IT asset disposition jobs at Wisetek recently pleaded guilty to stealing assets – including sensitive federal government devices – during disposition jobs in 2023, representing a significant ITAD-related data breach.
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Electronics were stockpiled inside a dilapidated Wisconsin warehouse for 10 years but are finally being removed. | All photos courtesy City of West Bend
Sandwiched between a quiet residential neighborhood and a tree-lined multi-use trail, a 10-year-old cathode ray tube and assorted e-scrap stockpile in West Bend, Wisconsin, is finally being removed and disposed of at an estimated cost of $3.2 million. Continue Reading
A federal judge recently ruled that Kevin Shibilski, a former executive at 5R Processors, was appropriately sentenced. | Proxima Studio/Shutterstock
A federal judge recently rejected an appeal by the leader of failed Wisconsin e-scrap firm 5R Processors, who is currently serving a sentence for tax crimes. Continue Reading
Photo illustration by Tori Maier-Mahaffy with photos from EnSafe and Resource Recycling, Inc.