Category Archives: INDUSTRY

Industry related news, updates and discussions.

Organization reports on New Zealand’s e-waste crisis

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E-waste is going to become a serious problem in New Zealand, an environmental group says in a new report released this week. The report is available  here or by clicking below. .

The eDay New Zealand Trust has released a report highlighting the spiralling electronic waste problem in New Zealand. The organization said its forecasts predict 2.2 million televisions and 1.5 million home computers will be dumped in the island nation in the next few years.

“Our desire for the latest gadget has resulted in this huge environmental crisis in New Zealand and the world. Computer sales are on the increase and we are facing a disposal deluge of CRT TVs with the imminent switch to digital television in September 2012,” said Laurence Zwimpfer, Chair of the eDay New Zealand Trust. “This hunger for electronics must be met with government regulation to ensure thousands of tonnes of toxic ewaste will not be dumped in our landfills.”

eDay was created by the Computer Access New Zealand Trust (CANZ) in 2007 to address a growing concern about the volume of e-waste being dumped in New Zealand’s landfills. The organization’s stated goal is “to build public, industry and political

support for a co-regulatory national product stewardship e-waste recycling scheme in New Zealand.”

 

Current national law provides for voluntary product stewardship programs operated by industry-led product stewardship organizations, or the nomination of priority products where the government can prepare regulations to enforce compliance if such industry-led programs are not established. The framework is not working, the organization said.

 

In addition to reporting volumes, the report provides an extensive look at the e-waste landscape in New Zealand – the economics of e-waste recycling in the country, the recyclers of e-waste and the materials they process, and recommendations for a national program.

 

“The eDay Trust is calling on industry and Government to work together and permanently solve the increasing problem through a national co-regulatory ewaste product stewardship based recycling scheme,” the organization said.

 

“We are not talking about heavy handed Government intervention. We’re calling on the Government to give the IT and TV industries a clear commitment to support an industry managed scheme with the necessary regulations to ensure all suppliers and importers contribute equitably to the costs of a national recycling scheme,” Mr Zwimpfer said.

The organization said the recent passage of Product Stewardship legislation in Australia makes an example for New Zealand to follow.

The report, titled Ewaste in New Zealand: five years on, can be downloaded from www.eday.org.nz or by clicking ewaste_in_nz_2011_final2

 

New York company earns RIOS+R2 certifications

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Regional Computer Recycling and Recovery (RCR&R), of Rochester, N.Y., has been granted certification in both the Recycling Industry Operating Standard and the Responsible Recycling (RIOS/R2) certification tailored specifically for electronics recyclers.

“These certifications put RCR&R at the forefront of this rapidly growing industry,” said ISRI President Robin Wiener.

“Since 1995, RCR&R has been an innovative leader in the electronics recycling industry. These certifications are a testament to our organization and all of our employees who have consistently operated at such a high level with dedication to customer quality, data security, environmental stewardship, and professionalism” said Michael Whyte, RCR&R President.

RCR&R is also a certified member of the National Association for Information Destruction.

Tablets’ impact on the e-waste recycling stream

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Commentary by Amanda Smith-Teutsch | Electronic Waste Journal

8.5 million.

That’s the number of iPad sales some analysts expect Apple to report selling during the third quarter 2011 next week during conference calls reporting quarterly financial results.  That’s not results for the entire year – that’s just the third quarter. While Apple is one of the larger players in the newly developing tablet market, they are by no means the only brand out there.

Take into consideration all of the other products on the market  - HP’s new TouchPad, Toshiba’s Thrive, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, high-end and entry-level products from Asus, products from Research in Motion, HTC, Dell, ACER and other manufacturers. All of these tablets – and the world’s insatiable appetite for the gadgets –  are creating an ever-growing addition to the e-waste stream, already the fastest growing segment of the world’s waste.

Already the tablets have been appearing in the recycling stream – Sims Recycling Solutions reported its first unit in its recycling stream appeared in October 2010, five months after the device was introduced . As these devices age and are replaced, more will work their way through to the recycling infrastructure.

It’s a device that seemingly arose out of nowhere and burst onto the consumer stage as the must-have gadget overnight. With such a meteoric rise, it’s important to make sure tablets are included into recycling programs at the end of life.

In many jurisdictions with e-recycling laws, tablet computers were added into the same category as laptops or with other video display devices. Other areas, including more than two dozen U.S. states, don’t have laws governing the disposal of the televisions, computers, monitors, laptops or tablets – into the landfill with all of it.

Even at the end of life, these tablets and devices are too valuable from recycling standpoint to landfill and lose forever. Hopefully policy comes into place to capture these valuable devices before they’re thrown into the trash.

A shredder at e-Scrap Destruction in Islandia, N.Y.; photo from Greenlanches.com http://www.greenlaunches.com/other-stuff/escrap-recycles-ewaste-to-reduce-the-burden-on-landfills.php

photo credit : from Greenlanches.com and Sims Recycling Solutions

First Mexico-based company certified to e-Stewards

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Glezco, in Neuvo Leon, outside Monterrey, Mexico, has achieved e-Stewards certification.

In addition to the Neuvo Leon facility, Glezco operates additional e-recycling plants in Guadalajara, Jalisco and Tijuana, Baja California in Mexico. These operations are also undergoing certification, as required under the e-Stewards program.

“We are thrilled to welcome the first Mexican e-Stewards recycler.  The global expansion of the e-Stewards program is essential for servicing the needs of the world’s most responsible multi-national corporations,” said Jim Puckett, Executive Director of BAN.

e-Stewards Certification ensures compliance with the international Basel Convention and its decisions as it prohibits toxic components contained in corporate electronic assets from finding their way to developing countries.  Mexico is a Party to the Basel Convention.

Glezco also holds ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 certificates and has achieved the Clean Industry Certification by SEMARNAT, a voluntary program ensuring compliance with Mexico’s federal environmental laws.

Established in 1992, Glezco serves large enterprises in a wide range of industries in Mexico recycling a large amount of consumer and corporate electronic scrap and equipment.

“Glezco has a long-standing commitment to best practices but we felt that the e-Stewards Certification was essential for ensuring our customers that their hazardous e-waste and sensitive data will be properly managed,” said Horacio Gonzalez, CEO of Glezco.  “It was hard work but we are very proud of holding the distinction of having passed the test of the industry’s gold standard.”

For more information on the company visit: http://glezcocorp.com.mx

R2 Certification expands across North America and the globe

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Companies seeking Responsible Recycling (R2) certification has grown beyond the borders of North America, R2 Solutions said.

R2 Solutions is a non-profit organization formed to administer and promote the R2 Standard. R2 Solutions is responsible for promoting the standard, encouraging e-recyclers to become certified to R2, educating the public about responsible e-recycling and providing administrative support to the R2 multi-stakeholder Technical Advisory Committee.

This week Technology Conservation Group, Inc. became the first electronics recycling company to attain certification for a facility in Europe, the organization said. And with two newly-certified facilities in Mexico as well, the company joins Sims and GEEP in growing adoption of the Standard beyond the reach of the U.S., and throughout the North American continent.

“The experience of these companies in applying the principles of the R2 Standard internationally really highlights one of the Standard’s most important strengths, which is the fact that it creates a set of best practices that can be applied anywhere in the world,” notes John Lingelbach, Acting Executive Director of R2 Solutions. “And that is certainly the ultimate goal of those who support the R2 Standard, to promote responsible electronics recycling practices, for everyone, everywhere without exception.”

Under Provision 3 of the R2 Standard, recyclers are required to demonstrate conformance to all applicable national and international laws. The wording of the R2 Standard allows it to be compatible with all regulatory environments. This unique approach to incorporating regulatory compliance into the R2 Standard also means that certified recyclers are required to implement regulatory changes as they are made and the Standard is always current to those regulations. “This particular aspect of the R2 Standard makes it a very agile one that easily accommodates the evolution of regulation, and promotes continued compliance,” Lingelbach said.

In addition to the TCG facilities in Mexico and the UK, and the Sims and GEEP facilities in Canada, the list of international R2 certified facilities is expected to grow rapidly. Certification bodies report having additional facilities under contract in Asia and Europe. R2 Solutions expects to have more than 125 R2 certified recyclers listed by the end of the year, spanning at least three continents.

For more information visit www.r2solutions.org.

ERI certified e-Stewards at three primary U.S. locations

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Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), headquartered in Fresno, Ca., has achieved company-wide certification of its primary U.S. operating locations in California, Washington, Colorado and Texas to the international e-Stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment, the Basel Action Network said. BAN added ERI is the largest recycler to date to have achieved this distinction.

John S. Shegerian

Certified e-Stewards Recyclers, such as ERI, have been extensively audited by accredited third-party Certification Bodies to ensure that all requirements of the Standard have been met.

The e-Stewards Standard, created by BAN in conjunction with industry leaders and health and environmental specialists, requires recyclers to eliminate exports of hazardous e-wastes to developing countries; to halt the dumping of such wastes in municipal landfills or incinerators; and to cease the use of captive prison populations to manage toxic e-wastes. It also calls for strict protection of private data and occupational health safeguards to ensure that workers in recycling plants are not exposed to toxic dusts and fumes.

“The e-Stewards Standard is a market differentiator in an industry that needs one badly,” said Jim Puckett, Founder of the Basel Action Network.  “If you care about security of your data, and the impacts of toxic substances in electronic waste on workers here at home and in developing countries, then you will choose to be held to this gold standard of environmental and social responsibility and you will accept no substitutes.”

Certification body QMI-SAI Global conducted the ERI audits that independently determined every one of ERI’s current facilities to be operating within the parameters set by the e-Stewards Standard. ERI reported that their three newest locations, in Indiana, Massachusetts and North Carolina, are also on schedule to be certified by the end of August, 2011.

“We are extremely proud to have met the strictest standards of environmental and operational excellence,” said John S. Shegerian, Chairman and CEO of ERI. “We strongly support BAN’s certified, third-party audited program and will proudly display our e-Steward Certification documents at each our locations.”

Shegerian also noted that ERI continues to see steady growth and will soon be expanding nationally and internationally.  As each facility becomes operational they will likewise become audited and certified.

Fresno-headquartered Electronic Recyclers International is licensed to de-manufacture and recycle televisions, computer monitors, computers, and other types of electronic equipment. ERI processes more than 140 million pounds of electronic waste annually at its locations in California, Washington, Colorado, and Texas.  For more information about e-waste recycling and ERI, call 1-800-884-8466 or visit http://www.electronicrecyclers.com.