Wisconsin-based URT was cited for employees being exposed to heavy metals during CRT dismantling, and the company president emphasized that the company has been working with OSHA for a year on the issues. | Drazah/Shutterstock
Federal regulators have fined URT more than $200,000 for multiple instances of workers exposed to elevated lead and cadmium levels during cathode ray tube device dismantling at the company’s Wisconsin location. Continue Reading
The EU will roll out Digital Product Passports in 2027, to provide a clear accounting of the life cycle of batteries and eventually many other items. | Giannis Papanikos/Shutterstock
Although the European Union is still several years away from implementing its inaugural Digital Product Passport regulations, e-scrap market participants who do business with Europe are preparing for this new phase in sustainability regulations.
SB 1215, which was enacted in 2022, expands California’s decades-old e-scrap recycling program to include battery-embedded products. | Jittawit21/Shutterstock
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery is working through rulemaking on SB 1215, which adds items with embedded batteries to the state’s existing e-scrap recycling program. Continue Reading
The companies, based in Wisconsin and California, are leveraging their strengths to produce Basel-compliant recycled e-plastics. | KPixMining/Shutterstock
Wisconsin-based Universal Recycling Technologies and California’s Hanil Eco Solutions are combining their expertise to achieve Basel Convention compliance in e-plastics recycling, the companies announced this week. Continue Reading
Under HB 1386, lithium-ion batteries and a handful of additional electronics are banned from landfills and incinerators in New Hampshire. | Mihai Andritoiu/Shutterstock
Starting in July 2025, lithium-ion batteries and a handful of other electronic devices will be banned from disposal in landfills, composting facilities and incinerators in New Hampshire. Continue Reading
The province’s four-year pilot program will become permanent on April 1. | Butenkov Aleksei/Shutterstock
Canada’s oldest provincial electronics recycling program will add more than 500 device types to its accepted materials list, making permanent a pilot program that’s been under way for four years. Continue Reading
According to the Basel Action Network, there’s an estimated 816 metric tons of toxic furnace dust illegally in transit from Albania to Thailand. | donvictorio/Shutterstock
The Basel Action Network alerted Thai and South African regulators to the possibility of illegal shipments containing toxic electric arc steel furnace dust collected from pollution control filters in Albania.
The Canadian province is considering a number of changes, including expanding the list of devices covered under the program to include cell phones, small appliances and power tools. | Billion Photos/Shutterstock
The Saskatchewan government has proposed expanding its e-scrap program to cover cell phones, power tools and more. Continue Reading
The UN Conference on Trade and Development said in its Digital Economy Report that developing nations shoulder a disproportionate share of the environmental impact from global digitalization. | KPixMining/Shutterstock
People living in developed countries generate more than 20 times as much e-scrap as their counterparts in developing countries, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s recently released 2024 Digital Economy Report. Continue Reading
Whistleblowers are invited to report a variety of poor recycling practices in the e-scrap industry. | GaudiLab/Shutterstock
The Basel Action Network this week rolled out a confidential reporting website seeking to make it easier for observers to report poor e-scrap management practices, such as questionable exports of devices and e-plastics, data security lapses and problematic storage or disposal. Continue Reading