| 7.26.2010 |
Deseret News |
California E-waste Recycling Program Now Awash with Fraud
Five years after its launch, California’s state government-run electronic waste program stands out not as a model of green innovation, but as an example of good intentions gone awry. By paying more than $320 million to collect and recycle computer monitors and TVs, the state has built a magnet for fraud totaling tens of millions of dollars, including illegal material smuggled in from out of state, industry investigators say.
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| 7.19.2010 |
eWeek Europe |
UK Government Scraps IT Recycling Body
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Advisory Body (WAB), the UK government and industry group charged with overseeing the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, has been disbanded, UK business secretary Vince Cable announced. Cable said the move was part of the coalition government’s strategy to reduce costs. The WEEE directive was adopted by the European Commission in 2003, but wasn’t enacted and enforced as UK law until 2007, when WAB was established.
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| 7.19.2010 |
BAN website |
U.S. EPA Recognizes E-Stewards Certification
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally recognized the e-Stewards Recycler Certification and associated e-Stewards Standard for the Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment. Developed by the Basel Action Network in conjunction with recycling industry leaders and other experts, the e-Stewards Standard describes environmentally safe and responsible practices for managing e-waste. Redemtech was the first company to achieve e-Stewards Certification for all of its facilities nationwide.
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| 7.9.2010 |
Discovery |
Fake Recyclers Profit from E-waste
A common scam called "fake recycling" involves despicable organizations that approach well-meaning community groups to help run a local recycling events, and then haul away the collected e-waste to ship to another country with lax environmental regulations. Recyclers can make more money by exporting than they can by actually responsibly recycling, according to the Basel Action Network and the Electronics TakeBack Coalition.
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| 7.7.2010 |
Environmental Leader |
Reuse IT to Promote Sustainability, Efficiency
Computer equipment is full of toxic materials and should not be disposed with ordinary waste, because the hazardous materials in a landfilled PC or server will leach into groundwater. Reuse extends the useful life of equipment, which is better for the environment and enables business users to squeeze more mileage out of it while cutting energy use
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| 7.6.2010 |
Fresno Bee |
Ill Ex-prison Employees Blame U.S. Government E-waste Program
Hundreds of federal prison workers, inmates and others in seven states suffering serious illnesses ranging from temporary blindness to abdominal pains say the U.S. government’s prison electronic recycling program exposed them to high levels of heavy metals and other toxic material. About 1,000 U.S. inmates salvage nearly 40 million pounds of metals, plastic and other materials annually for Federal Prison Industries, which operates under the trade name UNICOR.
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| 6.28.2010 |
Earth 911 |
Federal Judge Dismisses Industry Lawsuit Against NYC E-waste Law
A lawsuit filed last July by electronics industry associations against the 2008 New York City e-waste recycling law was dismissed this week by a U.S. federal court judge after the case was rendered moot by state legislation. The New York legislature recently passed a statewide e-waste bill that pre-empted the city’s law for product stewardship by electronics manufacturers. The case prompted a strong response from state and local officials in 18 states who had called on the Consumer Electronics Association and the Information Technology Industry Council to withdraw their lawsuit.
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| 6.23.2010 |
EurActive |
Members of European Parliament Want Curbs on Illegal E-waste Shipments
Members of European Parliament's environment committee voted to update European Union rules on electronic waste disposal in an effort to increase checks on e-waste exports and avoid illegal dumping. The MEPs also voted for a new collection target of 85% of all e-waste produced, urging the EU's 27 member states to tackle illegal shipments of e-waste that are exported to developing countries, where inadequate treatment can have serious health and environmental consequences.
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| 6.22.2010 |
Greener Computing |
CEA's Lobbying Priorities May Slow Green IT Growth
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) was instrumental in stalling proposed U.S. legislation that would have prohibited exporting e-waste to developing countries, industry observers say. Sources said the CEA spent $400,000 to lobby members of the U.S. Congress on issues such as e-waste during the first quarter of the year and the group continues to lobby for positions that could slow the adoption of green practices.
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| 6.14.2010 |
Inc. |
Five Ways to ‘Green’ Small Business Tech
Recycling office computers and other electronic equipment is an essential way to bring the “green IT” movement to a business, experts say. The transition to a green IT environment for many businesses includes swapping out desktop computers for laptops and replacing other outdated equipment. Experts note that computers can create hazardous waste if improperly disposed, so businesses should seek the services of a green recycler that also can make sure the equipment is cleared of sensitive business information.
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| 6.12.2010 |
Hartford Courant |
Connecticut E-Waste Recycling Program Planned
Connecticut officials recently said a new statewide e-waste recycling system for obsolete electronic equipment could be set up for residents as early as autumn. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection gained approval from state legislators for regulations necessary to set up a system with collection points across the state. The new recycling program will keep hazardous materials in electronic devices, such as lead and mercury, from entering the environment, with costs to transport and recycle the equipment to be borne by manufacturers.
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| 6.8.2010 |
Our Future Planet |
IT Waste: IT Bytes Back
Many computers are considered obsolete within two to three years of launch and, unfortunately, there still exists a mindset that it is cheaper to dispose rather than to refurbish the equipment. Computers contain toxins that present a real danger to people, who often work in poorly regulated IT reprocessing and recycling yards in India or China, where a lot of Western e-waste goes. “The problem is that there’s a lot of toxic material in IT waste,” said Iza Kruszewska of Greenpeace International.
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| 6.3.2010 |
KCBS |
San Jose Aims to Make E-Waste Breakthrough
City leaders in San Jose, Calif., are trying to crack down on technology recyclers that are shipping e-waste overseas. The city wants to require e-waste recyclers that operate in the city to prove they are e-Stewards-certified. San Jose Councilmember Ash Kalra said if a draft proposal is passed, San Jose would be the first U.S. city to require e-Stewards certification. The e-Stewards standard was established by the Basel Action Network in April as a way to help businesses choose recyclers that have been audited and certified for best practices of no e-waste exports, incineration or landfilling, along with no prison labor.
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| 6.1.2010 |
Environmental Leader |
New York State Passes E-Waste Law
New York became the latest state to pass a law regulating manufacturers of e-waste, overcoming strong opposition from the industry and Republican lawmakers. Under the law, passed by the legislature last week, manufacturers are obligated to pay $5,000 to register with the program, and an additional $3,000 each year in reporting fees. According to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, 23 states have thus far passed such laws, while seven more have introduced such legislation this year.
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| 5.28.2010 |
WVUE New Orleans |
Global Forces Gathering on Jointly Combating Illegal E-Waste Traffic
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week hosted the largest-ever international conference on combating global e-waste traffic. Representatives from 21 nations and a dozen non-governmental organizations attended the meeting, held in suburban Washington, D.C.
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| 5.26.2010 |
Florida Keys News |
Small Florida Village Offers E-Waste Recycling
The tiny village of Islamorada, Florida, located in the Florida Keys region, has begun offering its residents and businesses electronic waste recycling services. With media and regulatory attention to this issue mounting, could this be the wave of the future?
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| 5.26.2010 |
Sify News |
Indian Government to Bear Half the Cost for E-Waste Recycling
An Indian ministry official said the government will bear half of the cost for recycling electronic waste in that south Asian nation, where growth rates of e-waste are among the highest in the world. Speaking at a national forum on e-waste, the secretary for the ministry of environment and forests said that under the public-private partnership, local governments and the federal Indian government would each pick up one-quarter of the cost.
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| 5.26.2010 |
Australian Centre for Independent Journalism |
TV Industry Works with Australian Government on National E-Waste Plan
The Australian TV industry is working with the national government on a plan that would create national legislation governing the mounting e-waste problem in that country. But the head of the group, Product Stewardship Australia, says consumers need far more basic knowledge about what e-waste is and what they can and should do about it. Currently, Australians recycle only about 10 percent of their e-waste.
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| 5.18.2010 |
Bombay News |
NGO Says Indian E-Waste Rules Are Not Enough
A well-respected environmental organization says draft rules recently promulgated by the Indian government to regulate e-waste will not do the job. The head of the toxin department for the Centre for Science and Environment said the government’s proposed rules will do little or nothing to stop those who operate illegally in dumping e-waste irresponsibly.
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| 5.17.2010 |
The East African |
Ugandan E-Waste Recycler Has Ambitious Plans for Africa
The developing world has long been a target for the dumping of e-waste imported from richer nations. But a newly licensed e-waste recycler in Uganda is looking to do its part in changing that dynamic by recycling e-waste in Eastern Africa in a responsible manner. The company, Second Life, may benefit from recycling inducements offered by the government environmental watchdog.
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| 5.12.2010 |
Discovery News |
Can E-Waste be Converted into Biofuel?
Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created a device made from used computer parts that serves as a reservoir for the cultivation of algae. The algae can then be used in the production of biodiesel, which is seen as a potential replacement for oil and other fossil fuels. The magazine cautioned that the process remains both complex and expensive at present, which is why it remains a reality only in the research lab.
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| 5.10.2010 |
NextGov |
U.S. Lawmaker Pushes for Tougher E-Waste Enforcement
A powerful Congressional committee chairman is complaining to the leaders of a pair of federal agencies about the lack of enforcement of federal e-waste regulations. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns, a Democrat from New York, recently sent letters to the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration. He asked the EPA for information on its auditing of enforcement of recycling contractors, and sought details from GSA on the criteria it uses to select these vendors for government contracts.
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| 5.3.2010 |
IPS |
E-waste Processing Poisons Health, Environment
Chinese researchers say migrant workers who travel across China to Guiyu for jobs dismantling and incinerating imported Western e-waste for valuable metals and computer chips earn one dollar an hour during an average 10-hour day amid the 5,000 workshops in the village. The price they pay, however, is their long-term health, researchers say. High levels of environmental pollutants that threaten human health have been recorded in Guiyu and are released into the air by burning plastics and circuit boards coated with flame retardants to extract gold, platinum, copper and other metals.
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| 5.1.2010 |
Waste Age |
Patchwork of State E-Waste Regs Continues
By the end of this year, 20 states that have passed various forms of e-waste regulation are expected to have begun implementing them. But since they differ widely in their approaches, and the other 30 states have yet to act (with no real prospect of federal regulation in this area any time soon), the patchwork approach seems to be where things will stand for some time to come.
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| 4.30.2010 |
USA Today |
Developing World Will Soon Produce More E-waste than Developed Nations
Citing an increase in PC ownership in both developed and developing countries, scientists from Arizona State University and China's Nankai University issued a study claiming developing nations will discard more obsolete computers than developed regions by 2030. Redemtech refutes the implication that it is acceptable for Western nations to continue to dump e-waste in developing countries because they are generating their own e-waste. Jim Puckett of the Basel Action Network (BAN) has said that this view is tantamount to saying that a wealthy community should feel free to dump its trash in a poorer neighbor's back yard because that poor neighbor is not only generating its own trash, but we have noticed it is increasing. As the first nationally certified BAN e-Steward, Redemtech strongly opposes dumping e-waste on developing countries that do not have the ability to properly dispose of toxic materials in electronics.
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| 4.30.2010 |
Earth 911 |
Uganda Flooded with E-waste ‘Clones’
Countless computers are shipped overseas to Africa each year, either by companies looking to adopt the out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality to their e-waste problem or by “cloned” computer manufacturers looking to sell PCs assembled from non-major brand parts at discounted prices. Regardless of how the computers get there, parts of Africa have turned into e-waste dumping grounds where there is little or no means of properly treating and disposing of hazardous components.
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| 4.21.2010 |
BAN website |
Target Stores Won't Tell Public Where Their Collected E-waste Will Go
Retail chain Target appears unwilling to divulge what happens to the e-waste it collects from consumers, according to the Basel Action Network (BAN). BAN volunteers recently made inquiries to Target’s Minneapolis headquarters and Target stores in 12 U.S. cities regarding what would happen to the toxic e-waste Target is collecting. In every case, Target employees were either unwilling or unable to say. According to BAN, the lack of transparency is alarming because the organization estimates that 80% of what consumers deliver for recycling in collection programs is exported to developing countries. “There’s no good reason for hiding responsible recycling, so Target’s lack of transparency is troubling,” says Sarah Westervelt, BAN’s e-Stewardship Policy Director.
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| 4.16.2010 |
Financial Times |
E-waste – Making Money from Doing the Right Thing
Electronics recycling and “responsible disposal” are good, but re-manufacturing or refurbishment is the most viable solution for reducing e-waste, experts contend. A refurbishing company will pay for all components it can refurbish and only inferior quality parts will be recycled for re-use; nothing goes to landfill sites. Part of the problem is the short lifespan of much equipment, with many companies installing new systems when their manufacturer stops supporting their existing one. Perfectly functional equipment is discarded instead of being refurbished or serviced – and much of it can be re-used, which involves minimal effort and financial rewards.
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| 4.9.2010 |
New America Media |
Don’t Toss E-Waste onto Curb: Environmentalists
More than 80% of used electronics collected in U.S. recycling drives ends up in the developing world, where it often is disposed by indigent workers, even children, who unknowingly expose themselves to toxins, environmental experts say. “If they’re taking the material away for free, it’s likely getting dumped overseas,” said Sheila Davis, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. Large computer manufacturing companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard, Apple, and IBM have take-back schemes, but there’s not a lot of transparency in what happens to electronics once they’re returned, asserted Davis, noting that all use contractors to recycle their products, leading to vague accountability.
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| 4.5.2010 |
GamePro |
How Green is My Game?
The environmental impact of video game consoles is quickly becoming harder to ignore, especially as the industry grows bigger and more mainstream. E-waste from end-of-lifecycle consoles and game disks, as well as energy use, are both significant issues, industry observers and lawmakers say. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey introduced a Green Gaming Act in 2009 to determine whether video-game console energy efficiency standards are needed. "As millions of American families use video-game consoles, it is increasingly important to promote 'green gaming,'" Menendez said.
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| 4.3.2010 |
EFYTimes |
How to Prevent Your Old Computer from Harming the Environment
Business enterprises that plan to introduce new computers to their operations and discard the old ones should consider the e-waste implications and instead donate them, keeping proper data security issues in mind. Because the volumes of e-waste will continue to grow, an organization today must be very conscious of the impact of its discarded equipment on the local and global community.
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