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.
Legislation supporting retrievable storage as a downstream outlet for CRT glass has advanced in Illinois, and certification standards organizations are concerned – one may even consider withdrawing its program from the state.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued the former CEO of E-Waste Systems, alleging fraud and other violations of federal law. The federal agency settled separate enforcement actions against two other people involved with the company.
Large piles of CRT glass at Closed Loop’s S 59th Ave. site in Phoenix. Photo from 2016.
Major CRT tonnages left behind by Closed Loop Refining and Recovery sit in warehouses in Arizona and Ohio as regulatory and legal action continues.
It’s been 15 years since California’s e-scrap program was launched, and those years have brought significant changes to the end-of-life device stream. Now, administrators of the country’s first state program have adopted a vision for the future.
Missouri regulators plan to delete nearly all regulations under the state’s electronics recycling program, but on-the-ground impacts may be limited.
California regulators are accusing e-scrap processor Metech Recycling of violating hazardous waste management laws. In separate news, the state recently settled a lamp recycling case with AERC Recycling Solutions, which also handles scrap electronics.
China supplies components for a lot of equipment used in the U.S. recycling industry, meaning tariffs on Chinese imports would be felt across many recycling sectors, according to an industry association.
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.