| 3.8.2010 |
Ohio Environmental Law Blog |
Ohio Legislator Introduces Bill to Regulate E-Waste
Nine containers full of discarded televisions shipped from a Boston-area recycling center to Indonesia have touched off a small international incident, after an environmental watchdog group alerted the Indonesian government to the possibility that the shipment was illegal under international e-waste conventions. The company, CRT Recycling, disputed the matter, but the Indonesian government later returned the shipment to the U.S.
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| 3.2.2010 |
EurActive Network |
EU Cautioned to Go Slow on E-Waste Directive
As the European Union contemplates revisiting its 2003 directive regulating electronic waste in the Euro Zone, some are cautioning that the European Parliament isn’t taking all the important issues into consideration. Among the issues that deserve further study, according to Reid Lifset, a researcher at Yale University and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Industrial Ecology, is the issue of resource scarcity.
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| 3.2.2010 |
Boston Globe |
BAN Alerts Indonesia to Possible E-Waste
Nine containers full of discarded televisions shipped from a Boston-area recycling center to Indonesia have touched off a small international incident, after an environmental watchdog group alerted the Indonesian government to the possibility that the shipment was illegal under international e-waste conventions. The company, CRT Recycling, disputed the matter, but the Indonesian government later returned the shipment to the U.S.
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| 2.23.2010 |
PC World |
Five Ways to Do Your Part on E-Waste
A blogger for the magazine uses the recent and much-discussed UN report on global e-waste proliferation to spotlight five good paths through which individuals and organizations can responsibly recycle electronic material and keep material from overflowing the world’s landfills. They include BAN’s much-admired E-Stewards project, in which Redemtech is an active partner.
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| 2.22.2010 |
Canadian Government News Center |
Canadian Government Backs Recycling for Surplus Federal Gear
The Government of Canada gave the Canadian e-waste recycling industry a major morale boost by announcing it would begin using environmentally sound recycling practices for all federal surplus electronic and electrical equipment that has reached its end of life. It’s expected that as much as 2,000 tons of e-waste will be recycled each year under the program.
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| 2.22.2010 |
CBS News |
UN Report Warning of E-Waste Prompts Avalanche of News Coverage
A report from the United Nations Environment Program, warning that e-waste is mounting at unsustainable rates around the globe, posing special challenges to the developing world, touched off an avalanche of press coverage around the world. Details of the report were carried prominently in literally thousands of media outlets. "The world is now confronted with a massive wave of electronic waste that is going to come back and hit us, particularly for least-developed countries, that may become a dumping ground," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner told The Associated Press.
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| 2.22.2010 |
Business Wire |
Toshiba Expands E-Takeback Program
Toshiba’s digital products division says it is significantly stepping up its take-back program. The action comes against a backdrop of ever-rising regulatory requirements by dozens of states that have either begun requiring or soon plan to require manufacturers to take responsibility for diverting less e-waste into the nation’s landfills. The company said its goal is to recycle at least 12 million pound of equipment in the U.S. this year, and as much as 146 million pounds globally in 2010.
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| 2.21.2010 |
New Europe |
Poles Swap Electric Bulbs for E-Waste
While many governments around the world are using the stick—requiring citizens to get on the e-waste bandwagon—Poland’s Ministry of the Environment has come up with an intriguing method for instead using carrots. The agency induces citizens to trade their e-waste—which the ministry disposes of responsibly—for more-efficient, new-generation light bulbs. In just one recent collection event, 30 tons of equipment were collected.
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| 2.17.2010 |
U.S. EPA news release |
EPA Teams With College to Encourage Higher Ed E-Waste Recycling
The U.S. Environmental Protective Agency and the Temple University recycling center teamed up in a program to educate colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area and beyond on the importance of recycling electronics on campus at the end of their useful life. The unusual collaboration highlights the marked increase in activity by the EPA since the Obama Administration took office. Representatives from 13 Mid-Atlantic educational institutions took part in the conference.
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| 2.16.2010 |
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Redemtech Offers Free Regulatory Database
Online library helps companies navigate the ever-changing legislative landscape – and guard against liabilities for data privacy, electronics disposal and financial transparency.
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| 2.11.2010 |
Waste & Recycling News |
Nebraska Nonprofit Offers Businesses E-Waste Grants
A nonprofit group in Nebraska, through funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, is offering grants to businesses in the state to cover the cost of recycling electronic waste. WasteCap Nebraska’s e-Scrap Nebraska grant program covers a limited number of items, with additional items requiring the participant to pay a nominal fee. Grant recipients also receive planning assistance and access to educational and marketing materials.
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| 2.8.2010 |
Radio Station CJOB |
Manitoba to Ban E-Waste from Landfills
The Canadian province of Manitoba will ban e-waste from landfills, beginning in April of next year. Manitoba’s conservation ministry is selling the program to citizens as a convenient way to dispose of household materials that are hazardous to the environment and their health. Household goods such as paint, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, anti-freeze and batteries will also be included in the program.
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| 2.4.2010 |
Bloomberg News |
From E-Waste to Olympic Medals
Recycled electronic waste is due to get a serious publicity boost at the 2010 Olympics, where winners’ medals will be fashioned from recovered e-waste. The 2010 Olympic and Paralympic medals are the first containing metal salvaged from televisions, circuit boards, monitors and other electronic waste. The material will be supplied by Teck Resources Ltd., Canada's largest base-metals producer.
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| 2.4.2010 |
Indo Asian News Service |
Indian E-Waste Growing at Unsustainable Clip
India’s Central Pollution Control Board predicted the country will produce about 800,000 tons of electronic waste by the year 2012, or about five times what it produced only as recently as 2005. The new figures come amid rising internal pressure for the country to begin regulating its e-waste.
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| 2.2.2010 |
Greener Computing |
E-waste Recovery Market Seen Tripling in Five Years
The global market for recovering and recycling used electronics will reach $14.7 billion by 2015, nearly tripling in size, according to a new report. ABI Research says the boom will be driven by several factors, including rising rates of e-waste collection and recycling, improvements in recycling technologies, the growth of infrastructure to collect electronics for recycling, and maturing recycling markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
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| 2.1.2010 |
Illinois EPA |
Illinois Continues Phased March to Banning E-waste in Landfills
The state has set as its 2010 goal the recycling/reuse of 31 million pounds of e-waste. Under the state’s Electronic Products Recycling and Re-use Act, computers, monitors, televisions and printers will be entirely banned from landfill disposal, beginning January 1, 2012. The law carries obligations for manufacturers to establish recycling and reuse systems, but does not specify how the goals should be met, preferring free market solutions. It’s expected to serve as a spur to e-waste infrastructure throughout the state.
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| 1.22.2010 |
Financial Express |
E-waste Policies Seen as Crucial to Sustainable Growth
The problem of electronic waste should not be addressed as a stand-alone issue, but rather as part of a broader and more comprehensive sustainability strategy, a prominent London-based consultant told participants at a national seminar on electronic waste. Usha Dar, the director of research & consulting for the World Environment Foundation, said the European Union has not treated the issue of e-waste as an integral part of sustainable development, thus limiting the chances of its success. He called for a consortium of researchers, recyclers, NGOs, manufacturers and others involved with e-waste to work out a broad e-waste strategy.
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| 1.21.2010 |
Cnet News |
Electronic OEMs Working on Sustainability Ratings
A handful of manufacturers of consumer electronics--including HP, Dell and Intel—are collaborating with the Sustainability Consortium on developing a better definition for “green” in the area of electronics. The sustainability ratings are an outgrowth of a Wal-Mart initiative, launched in 2008, to rate its suppliers on their environmental friendliness.
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| 1.21.2010 |
Good Clean Tech |
ROI More Key Than Ever for Tech & Telecom Firms on Environmental Front
According to a recent survey by a prominent global growth consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, despite the turbulent economy, telecom companies are not abandoning initiatives that make them more environmentally responsible. The firm cited continuing pressure from government, consumers and other stakeholders. But companies are more intent than ever on establishing the return-on-investment for such projects.
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| 1.21.2010 |
One India |
U.N. Rep Pleased with India's Movement on E-waste
A United Nations Human Rights Council official concluded a ten-day visit of India by welcoming what he called “the significant progress India has made in the area of the management and disposal of hazardous products and wastes.” He noted the country’s readiness to regulate e-waste. Currently, only 3% of the e-waste generated in India is recycled in authorized facilities.
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| 1.20.2010 |
EPA Website |
EPA Fines Firm for Defying Order on E-Waste
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an order seeking penalties of up to $37,500 per day on California-based ZKW Trading for failing to properly manage electronic waste it was attempting to export to Hong Kong. The company failed to comply with an earlier EPA order requiring it to remove its cargo from the Port of Long Beach and to submit a plan for managing e-waste it handles.
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| 1.20.2010 |
Greener Computing |
EPA Provides Guidance on Green Recycling
In a recent online meeting, EPA officials provided guidance to small businesses and other interested parties on how to find the greenest electronic-waste recyclers. The key motto anyone should remember for such a search? No surprises there: trust but verify.
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| 1.16.2010 |
C-Net News |
Court Showdown Set On Efforts to Mandate OEM Recycling
Oral arguments are scheduled next month in a court case challenging New York City’s right to mandate that computer manufacturers must bear some of the costs of recycling the equipment they produce. During a recent keynote address to the Consumer Electronics Show, the president of one of the trade groups challenging the law, the Computer Electronics Association, labeled the city’s regulation “ridiculous.”
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| 1.9.2010 |
Los Angeles Times |
Put E-waste in its Right Place
It is estimated that Americans own an average of 23 consumer electronics per household, underlining the reason why e-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the U.S. Americans dispose of 205 million computer products and more than 100 million cell phones and PDAs a year, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and only 16% of that hardware reportedly was recycled. "Ten years ago, electronic waste wasn't even on our radar," said Thea McManus, associate director of the EPA. Now, she says, "It's an issue that needs special management."
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| 1.6.2010 |
CBC News |
E-waste Still Being Exported, Says Watchdog
The export of e-waste to developing nations is not as dire in Canada as it is in the U.S., where there are no federal export regulations, because Canada declares e-waste export illegal, says Jim Puckett, executive director of the Basel Action Network. However, Puckett said it still occurs because of a lack of enforcement. "The so-called recyclers out there are not really recycling. What they're doing is loading up containers and shipping things off and it's too easy, even in Canada, where you are a party to the Basel Convention," said Puckett, who estimates 80% of private recyclers in North America export e-waste to developing nations, where workers break down old computers using dangerous methods to get at raw materials.
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| 1.5.2010 |
New York Times |
Court Showdown Looms for NYC Electronics Recycling Law
A federal judge in New York City will soon hear arguments in a lawsuit to determine if a sweeping e-waste recycling program can begin in the city in mid-February. Program supporters say the law resembles ongoing e-waste efforts in 19 states that aim to keep toxic metals from electronics out of landfills, but the Consumer Electronics Association and the Information Technology Industry Council say the city has overstepped its authority. The Natural Resources Defense Council, which helped draft the law, and the Electronics Takeback Coalition disagree, saying producer responsibility laws are designed to determine how discarded computers and other electronic devices should be collected and recycled in the absence of federal regulation.
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| 12.28.2009 |
CommonDreams.org |
Holiday e-Waste? Beware Fake Recyclers
The Basel Action Network (BAN) has warned that old electronics are hazardous and should not be handed over to just any company calling itself a recycler. "The sad little secret of our high-tech world is that we are creating mountains of this new form of toxic waste, and most electronics recyclers do not recycle the material at all, but simply throw it into a seagoing container and export it to destinations like China, India and Africa," said BAN's e-Stewardship Director Sarah Westervelt. "In these developing countries, your old computer or TV will be smashed, melted and burned in highly dangerous and polluting operations by a desperately impoverished and unprotected workforce," she added. BAN urges consumers to use only licensed e-Steward recyclers.
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| 12.26.2009 |
Poughkeepsie Journal |
E-waste Can Be Curbed Safely
The Consumer Electronics Association reported that about 80% of consumers said they wanted technology as a holiday gift and that 29 cents of every dollar was spent on technology products this season, raising questions about disposal of old electronics. These aren't items that you can just throw in the trash and watch as they get hauled off to a landfill, experts say. Many electronics contain hazardous substances, such as lead and cadmium, which can seep into soil and water.
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| 12.15.2009 |
U.S. EPA website |
Companies that Illegally Exported E-waste to Hong Kong to Pay $21,650 Penalty
Ziliang Zhu, doing business as W and E International Trading, and SM Metals, doing business as Better PC Recycle, were both charged by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with illegally exporting computer monitor waste to Hong Kong and will pay a penalty of $21,650, according to the EPA. The agency said the Washington companies attempted to ship more than 500 discarded computer monitors in April. Generators and exporters of e-waste “must take responsibility for proper management and disposal,” said Edward Kowalski, EPA Director of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle, noting that the agency “will use enforcement when necessary to ensure electronic waste doesn’t end up at the doorstep of countries that don’t want it.”
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| 12.11.2009 |
KSAX |
Jack's Family Recycling's Soil Needs More E-Waste Testing
Jack's Family Recycling Center in Alexandria, Minn., tested six inches of topsoil in response to charges that the facility improperly manages e-waste, saying results of analysis indicate the soil is below hazardous levels. But Ray Bissonnette with Minnesota Pollution Control contends that the soil still is contaminated and more testing is planned. The agency said it will test area homeowners' backyard wells to determine if contamination has seeped into the ground water.
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| 12.10.2009 |
CFRA |
E-Waste Banned from Curbside Trash Collection
Ottawa, Canada’s capital, has banned e-waste from curbside garbage collection, beginning in January. The City of Ottawa's Solid Waste Management Bylaw now excludes e-waste, including computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, fax machines and televisions. Councillor Peter Hume said hazardous e-waste should not be going into Canadian landfills.
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| 12.9.2009 |
Mother Nature Network |
How E-waste is Poisoning the World's Children
Most people today assume that recycled e-waste is taken to state-of-the-art facilities where it is broken down safely so the metals and other resources inside can be reused, but in reality, global e-waste is growing so rapidly that little attention is paid to where these gadgets actually go. Some so-called “recyclers” ship tons of e-waste overseas, where workers, many of them children, are slowly poisoned by the toxic materials computers contain. The United Nations estimates that as much as 50 million tons of e-waste are disposed globally each year.
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| 12.5.2009 |
Adelaide Now |
Australia Moving Ever Closer to Banning E-Waste from Landfills
Australia’s environmental minister said the country is moving closer to requiring electronics manufacturers to oversee the collection and recycling of materials at the end of their life. He cited the changeover to digital TVs as one reason for the change, which the government has been supporting through grants to local governments. Australia boasts the only recovery plant for computer and TV cathode ray tubes in the southern hemisphere.
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| 11.30.2009 |
Environmental Leader |
Seizing the Reins on Sustainability
New research indicates that many companies are approaching the sustainability issue reactively rather than proactively or from a strategic perspective. Executives and managers should be wary of using full corporate agendas and the global economic downturn as excuses to delay engaging with top management on sustainability initiatives. Research shows that sustainability offers companies significant opportunities for creating value and competitive advantage - and that these opportunities could, in effect, address some of the very challenges that risk crowding the sustainability debate out of the corporate boardroom.
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| 11.23.2009 |
Christian Science Monitor |
E-waste Recycling – Are Solutions Near?
E-waste poses a large and growing problem around the world, and represents the fastest growing portion of the municipal waste stream in the U.S. As e-waste recycling is subject to almost no oversight, 80% of e-waste is exported to developing countries, according to industry experts. There, people extract scrap metal, circuit boards and other resalable materials without adequate protective material, exposing themselves to hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and cadmium. Many companies have taken the e-Stewards Pledge to recycle electronics in a way that’s friendlier to people and the environment. Soon, the e-Stewards Pledge will become e-Stewards Certification; an accredited, third-party certification program for e-waste recycling that is slated to begin in March 2010.
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| 11.18.2009 |
Greener Computing |
E-Waste Pops Back onto the Nation's Radar
Several issues related to e-waste have arisen recently, prompting industry observers to consider awareness of the e-waste crisis to be growing. Barbara Kyle, national coordinator for the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, called for opposition to a lawsuit filed by electronics manufacturers to stop New York City’s e-waste takeback law from taking effect. Representatives from 18 state and local governments sent a letter to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) rejecting the lawsuit as an attempt to raise questions about the constitutionality of state- and local-level e-waste laws as a way of preventing those laws from going on the books, and forcing the issue to the federal government, where progress has been slow.
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