The debate over the merits and pitfalls of e-scrap exporting has been alive and well for decades now, but one thing has remained clear: Choosing to ship material halfway around the world adds a thick layer of complication to the basic goal of managing the domestic e-scrap stream.
A Feb. 2, 2018 drone view of a site dubbed “dioxin factory,” where imported e-scrap is processed and circuit boards and wires are burned in a smelter.
A police raid at a massive e-scrap facility in Thailand prompted Seattle-based Basel Action Network to release results of its own investigations in the Southeast Asian country.
With the U.S. e-scrap industry continuing to rely on the export market, companies are not only contending with domestic laws and certification requirements – they’re navigating a wide range of complex and unique international laws as well.
A computer tower with a tracking device provided by the Green Tracking Service (device at lower right).
A U.S. company has begun providing an e-scrap tracking service so processors and OEMs can see where their downstream vendors are sending devices. One processor is already regularly using the service.
You’d be forgiven if you were misled by the headline of the press release announcing the most recent report from United Nations University and its partners on international e-scrap flows.
China has ratcheted up inspection requirements for recyclables imported from the U.S., requiring every load to be opened for inspection and temporarily shutting down the only organization providing pre-shipment approval in the U.S.
The U.S. EPA solid waste chief during the Obama Administration is now helping to push forward circular economy principles, and some of his work could help reshape electronics recovery in developing areas of the world.
The administrator of the R2 recycling standard has detailed what is and isn’t legal when shipping used electronics and e-scrap to Hong Kong.
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A two-year study has highlighted key details about e-scrap exports to Nigeria, including the different device types entering the country, methods used to ship them and countries of origin.
Customs officers in China’s port city of Xiamen seized a load of end-of-life electronics last month, claiming the material didn’t meet e-scrap import standards.