Maine e-waste firm adds CRT processing capabilities

Posted on August 17, 2011 by admin

EWaste Recycling Solutions, of Auburn, Maine, is expanding its CRT recycling business thanks to new electronic takeback laws in that state.

The Sun Journal reported the expansion on its website.

EWaste Recycling Solutions recycles CRTS and electronics, and is one of the only state firms approved by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to process through the state-run system.

“We are going to do a little ramp-up here, hiring a couple of people right off, quick,” CEO Rick Dumas told the newspaper. “Then we plan to do a couple of tests just to make sure that the process we have in place is working. As soon as we verify our process and procedures, we should be able to add 18 people.”

The company currently has 29 employees.

While the company has its own shredding technology, the company is adding technology to separate leaded from unleaded glass. Unleaded glass will be recycled, and leaded glass is sent to a smelter in New Brunswick, Canada, the company said.

Maine’s new takeback law allows homeowners to recycle covered electronics, including CRT monitors and TVs free of charge.

NAID expands certification to include solid-state memory devices

Posted on August 11, 2011 by admin

Press release from the National Association for Information Destruction:

Effective immediately, the NAID Board of Directors has approved the launch of the NAID AAA Certification Program for Sanitization Operation that process solid state memory devices, including mobile phones, smart phones, memory chips and computers.

Prior to this development, NAID program for certifying Sanitization only applied to convention hard drives.

Companies that are already NAID AAA Certified for Sanitization Operations can now add a Solid State Memory Endorsement to their current status at their next announced audit (not applicable to unannounced audits) for no additional fee.

Firms that applying for NAID AAA Certification that are exclusive focused on solid state applications will pay a fee that is consistent with all Sanitization Operations audits: $2,580 per year, which includes all application fees and the cost of all announced and unannounced audits.

For more information, see NAID’s website.

Oregon collects 12.2 million pounds for electronics recycling in six months

Posted on August 9, 2011 by admin

News outlets in Oregon are reporting the Oregon E-Cycles program is gaining steam in its thid program year.

Halfway through 2011, totals from collection sites and events amounted to 12.2 million pounds of e-waste collected for recycling, up from last year’s mid-year collection total of 11.9 million pounds for recycling, reports OregonLive.com.

Reuse is also growing, the program reported – nearly 18,000 TV, computer and monitor units have been diverted for reuse so far this year.

E-waste recycling in Oregon became obligatory in 2009 after the passage of producer responsibility laws in the state.

Each year, collection goals of 19 million pounds and 21.5 million pounds have been surpassed, the website reported. The program is on track to meet its 2011 collection goal of 22.95 million pounds.

For more information on electronic recycling in Oregon, Oregon E-Cycles, visit www.oregonecycles.org or call 1-888-532-9253.

WM completes two electronics recycling acquisitions

Posted on August 5, 2011 by admin

Waste Management has purchased two electronics recycling firms, in a series of financial transactions announced Aug. 1.

The company, through its recycling subsidiary WM Recycle America LLC, acquired Access Computer Products, Inc. and Mordell LLC. Access Computer Products provides cell phone, ink and toner cartridge, and consumer electronics reverse logistics, remarketing, and recycling services. Mordell, LLC, a re-commerce partner responsible for refurbishing and selling used computer equipment obtained through Access and other third party suppliers, was also acquired by WM Recycle America. Both are based in Loveland, Colo.

“Waste Management is committed to providing solutions to our customers for managing their electronic waste,” said Pat DeRueda, president of WM Recycle America. “This acquisition will expand Waste Management’s presence in the growing electronics recycling and re-commerce market and provide an additional high value service to our customers. Waste Management is committed to maximizing the value of the components in electronic materials as well as other materials it manages.”

The company has a partnership with Cartridge World to recycle ink cartridges, announced in May 2011.

This acquisition contributes to Waste Management’s sustainability goal of tripling the amount of material it recycles to 20 million tons by 2020.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the largest provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also the largest residential recycler and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. For more information visit http://www.wm.com/.

E-waste should not be wasted

Posted on August 1, 2011 by admin

Commentary by Amanda Smith-Teutsch | Electronic Waste Journal

In a study released last week, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries reports the total scrap recycling industry – including metals, glass, fibers, plastics, and paper, amongst other materials – contributes $90.6 billion to the U.S. economy each year.

Electronics recycling is a small, but growing, part of this impact. The same trade organization, earlier this year, released the initial results of a study on U.S. e-waste recycling and found the industry has already grown from less than $1 billion in 2002 to $5 billion in 2010 in the country. At its conference in May, ISRI said the industry could grow to $8 or $10 billion in the coming years.

What is needed to make sure the electronics recycling industry continues on this path of growth? A positive legislative environment is one step in that direction. Since 2002, 25 states have passed some form of electronics recycling mandate, banning electronics from landfills and usually holding manufacturers responsible for funding their recycling.

A recently announced federal initiative hopes to voluntarily increase electronics recycling. But such voluntary efforts don’t often have the same impact as jurisdictions where the force of law dictates electronics’ end-of-life management. The increasing number of states with electronics recycling mandates is likely one of the driving forces behind this growth, along with public interest and voluntary manufacturer environmental responsibilities.

The U.S. EPA estimates that in 2009, of the 2.5 million short tons of e-waste generated in the country, about 25 percent was recycled.

That’s criminal.

That means that in 2009, the U.S. electronics recycling industry didn’t have access to 1,875,000 short tons of electronics, which instead now sit languishing in landfills, where the valuable commodities of aluminum, copper, plastics, and precious metals are lost forever.

In 8 years, the electronics recycling industry has grown from providing 6,000 full time jobs in the U.S. to 30,000. Imagine the economic impact if e-waste recycling was incentivized throughout the entire U.S., and not just half of it.

Official government photos of e-waste announcement at Round2 in Austin.

R2 may change in face of Intercon situation

Posted on July 29, 2011 by admin

The Intercon scandal, which now is being litigated in court, presented a unique challenge for R2 Solutions and the Responsible Recycling standard – what to do when a certified recycler is accused of massive wrongdoing. The challenge – and the response so far – could lead to significant changes in how the certification is administered, R2 Solutions’ board of directors said.

At the time, R2 Solutions, which administers the R2 standard, removed, or in their words “delisted” the company from the directory of R2-certified recyclers.

Now, the R2 board of directors has sent a letter to the Technical Advisory Committee, requesting help in developing policies and procedures in dealing with similar crises if and when they arise in the future.

“We, the R2 Solutions Board of Directors, believe it is essential that both the Board and the TAC do everything in our collective means to maintain and strengthen the integrity of the R2 Standard. R2 is a new brand and industry opinion is still unsettled about whether it firmly demands and demonstrates responsible recycling. We must do everything we can to ensure that it does.”

The board said it would explore, and maybe implement, changes to R2 and how it is administered.

This includes strong language laying out precisely what is required of certified recyclers an certifying bodies auditing the recyclers.

“Certifying bodies should be able to act decisively if it appears that a requirement is not being met—at any point during the three-year certification cycle. And R2 Solutions needs to be able to work collaboratively with the CBs in these instances,” the board of directors write in their letter.

A policy for dealing with non-conformances must be put in place, the board wrote, that will:

Fully protect the integrity of the R2 standard while providing due process to the facility,
Articulates the role and responsibilities of the certifying bodies, and
Describes the actions R2 Solutions will take in such situations.

In the letter, the R2 Solutions board of directors seeks guidance and input from R2 stakeholders.

Current members of the R2 Solutions board are:

John DeVillars, who works in the area of renewable energy as Managing Partner of BlueWave Capital. The Regional Administrator for New England during President Clinton’s EPA, he served as co-Chair of EPA’s national Common Sense Initiative Advisory Group for the electronics industry.

John Howard is currently working as an independent public policy consultant after a distinguished career in the field of law. During the Bush Administration, he served as the Federal Environmental Executive and went on to chair EPA’s National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology.

John Lingelbach is a nationally-recognized environmental mediator who is currently serving as Acting Executive Director of R2 Solutions. From 2006 through 2008, he facilitated the multi-stakeholder development of the R2 Practices.

Pete Regan is currently working with private-equity backed companies and with several non-profits. Previously, he served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of ERM, Inc., the world’s leading global provider of EHS, risk and social consulting services.

Lynn Rubinstein is the Executive Director of the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) for the past 11 years. NERC’s mission is to advance an environmentally sustainable economy by promoting source and toxicity reduction, recycling, and the purchasing of environmentally preferable products and services.