The week of negotiations had moments of both hope and frustration for delegates, who are racing against the clock to create a final treaty. | Photo courtesy of IISD/ENB Kiara Worth
The fourth meeting to draft a global plastic pollution treaty ended just after 3 a.m. on April 30 with general agreement on the need for global rules and mandates on product design, composition, performance and extended producer responsibility.
E-Cycle Washington handled 12.9 million pounds of electronics in 2023, down about 3% from the previous year. | Aquatarkus/Shutterstock
The weight of devices collected in Washington state’s e-scrap program dropped again in 2023, reaching a new low in the program’s 15th year as the portion of lighter-weight devices in the stream continues to grow. Continue Reading
New Jersey became the first state to pass an extended producer responsibility law for electric vehicle batteries. | Mpohodzhay/Shutterstock
New Jersey is the first state to make producers responsible for electric vehicle batteries and other, similar propulsion batteries. Continue Reading
Port Klang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where U.S. e-scrap companies send a lot of their e-plastics. Several insiders recently shared their thoughts on how the industry will approach e-plastics export violations. | Nicola Pulham/Shutterstock
Chris Kaasmann sees a parallel between the e-scrap industry’s requirement to start managing e-plastics differently and the need for the planet to switch to renewable energy. Both need to happen, but in neither case can you simply flip a switch to realize universal change. Continue Reading
From left to right: Steve Noble, Jason Linnell, Walter Alcorn, Melanie Weitzel and Chris Kaasmann. | Big Wave Productions/E-Scrap & E-Reuse Conference
The number of states with e-scrap recycling programs has not changed much in the past decade, but there have been some notable updates and overhauls in recent years. Industry experts dissected those changes in a recent workshop. Continue Reading
Metro Metals’ locations in Vancouver, Wash. (pictured above) and Tacoma, Wash. together handled about 41% of the e-scrap recycled by the E-Cycle Washington program in 2022. | Jared Paben/E-Scrap News
The total e-scrap weight handled by Washington state’s program dropped, one device was wrongly exported to the Middle East and a processor exited the program last year, according to an annual report. Continue Reading
The bill in Oregon will greatly expand the list of covered items, bringing VCRs and other products into the fold. | Charles Knowles/Shutterstock
This story has been updated.
Oregon lawmakers passed – and the governor signed – legislation that will add devices to the state’s electronics recycling program and also alter the framework through which manufacturers fulfill their collection obligations. Continue Reading
The latest e-scrap legislation in the Keystone State aims to address an accumulation of electronics that are expensive or difficult for residents to recycle. | ThamKC/Shutterstock
Two Pennsylvania senators are trying to restructure the current e-scrap recycling program to make it more efficient and convenient. Continue Reading
Researchers in Ireland found that the country’s e-scrap and electrical appliances recycling rate for the past three years has been roughly 40%, despite a target of 65%. | Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
A survey commissioned by a producer responsibility organization found that data security concerns are holding back recycling rates for scrap electronics and small appliances. Continue Reading
The Council of the District of Columbia voted unanimously in December to allow OEMs participating in the eCYCLE Program to contract with R2-certified facilities. | JHVE Photo/Shutterstock
The extended producer responsibility program in the nation’s capital will once again allow for the use of R2-certified electronics recycling companies.