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
Cathode ray tubes are heavy, contain hazardous materials, are labor-intensive to process and have had unstable end markets. | Boonchuay1970/Shutterstock
Ten years ago, Indian cathode ray tube manufacturer Videocon was recycling end-of-life CRTs from U.S. processors into new CRT displays. New York-headquartered Nulife Glass was preparing to start up its first CRT glass furnace. In Illinois, Kuusakoski was placing CRT glass in storage cells for future potential recovery. And e-scrap processors around the country were shipping CRTs to Closed Loop Refining and Recovery warehouses in Ohio and Arizona. Continue Reading
Gaylord boxes of cathode ray tube glass stockpiled wall to wall in a former Recycletronics site in Akron, Iowa, which was cleaned up in 2022 under the U.S. EPA’s purview. | Photo Courtesy U.S. EPA
Two e-scrap collectors that allegedly sent cathode ray tube glass to failed Midwest processor Recycletronics recently received demand letters from the U.S. EPA seeking compensation for more than $1.3 million in cleanup costs from Superfund remediation activities in 2022.
CalRecycle adjusts the amounts paid to recyclers to cover the average net costs of collecting and recycling covered products every year. | Anake Seenadee/Shutterstock
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery has proposed increasing some payment rates for processors who participate in the state e-scrap program. Continue Reading
URT, one of the few companies that continues to process CRT devices, was cited in 2023 and 2024 for workplace safety issues partially due to lead and cadmium exposure. | Underworld/Shutterstock
ITAD and cathode ray tube device processor Universal Recycling Technologies announced that its e-Stewards certification will be suspended for 30 days, following an OSHA fine over worker exposure to lead and cadmium. Continue Reading
Kuusakoski made waves in the CRT processing world over its decade and a half in the U.S. | Photosync/Shutterstock
Kuusakoski US will close its two Illinois electronics and CRT glass processing facilities and exit the U.S. altogether, refocusing on its European operations after what the company described as severe, prolonged financial challenges in the U.S. Continue Reading
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.