~ CRT and Monitor Recycling ~
U.S. DOT ruling:
Maine can define hazardous waste
Maine has been given the right to
define CRT glass as hazardous waste by the U.S. Department of
Transportation in a preemption ruling issued Thursday. The DOT ruling
(available
here), while
preserving the standard that federal regulations defining the handling
of hazardous waste mandate state actions, allows for states to regulate
substances that are not federally designated as hazardous.
According to a 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation, CRTs are not designated as hazardous waste if being transported for recycling. Maine's Department of Environmental Protection subsequently ruled that ground or broken CRT glass must be transported by a documented hazardous waste carrier, among other requirements meant to ensure safe transport of the material.
The ruling was in response to a May 2008 petition by the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) trade group, which sought to change the state's hazardous and universal waste rules and could have ultimately prevented any state from fully regulating anything as either a "hazardous" or "universal" waste if the EPA had not done the same.
The EIA claimed that Maine's e-scrap law interferes with transportation regulations for CRTs whole or crushed and that the law is not substantially the same as the existing Hazardous Materials Regulation, thus invalidating it, and would preempt all state-only hazardous or universal waste.
EPA orders firm to
handle illegally exported CRTs
Continuing its
recent
run of more active
enforcement of its 2007 CRT rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency this week ordered a company to submit a management plan for the
16 tons of CRTs it illegally exported to Hong Kong. Monterey Park,
California-based ZKW Trading now has 30 days to remove its cargo and 45
days to submit a plan to the EPA addressing how it will handle through
re-use, recycling or disposal the 31,993 pounds of CRTs, or face fines
of up to $37,500 per day for noncompliance.
EPA Orders Company to
Submit Plan to Remove CRTs
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has ordered ZKW Trading, a Monterey Park, Calif. company, to
submit a management plan for about 31,993 pounds of cathode ray tubes
that were illegally shipped to, and later returned from, Hong Kong -- a
violation of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
http://www.recyclingtoday.com/Article.aspx?article_id=22449
Yuma processor cited
for CRT glass mishandling
The Dlubak Glass Co. was
cited recently by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ)
for the improper handling and storage of glass from CRTs, which the
company is working to mitigate. The ADEQ issued a notice of five
violations against Dlubak Glass after a hazardous waste inspection in
April reportedly uncovered broken CRT glass stacked in large piles on
facility grounds.
The notice cites five violations, including poor storage of CRTs in various states of process, incorrect labeling, processing without a structure, failure to make a waste determination and disposal of hazardous waste without a permit. According to the notice, Dlubak Glass is working to fix the issues in the report.
"Dlubak appears to be making good progress toward resolving many of the counts in the Notice of Violation, but we wont know about everything involved until we analyze the site assessment plan," says ADEQ Director of Communications, Mark Shaffer.
Of particular interest to glass customer, Dlubak Glass will no longer be washing processed CRT glass at the Yuma facility, instead sending material to Technologies Displays Mexicana, a Videocon subsidiary in Mexicali, Mexico.
The notice of violation is available here and a copy of the inspection done in April is available here.
For safe and proper processing of CRTs and Monitors, visit www.CaliResources.com
SAMR hit with
$199,000 EPA fine
Supreme Asset Management and Recovery has been fined $199,900 by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the illegal export of
non-working CRT monitors to Hong Kong in both 2007 and 2008, as well as
"for failing to promptly respond to EPA's requests for information,"
according to the agency. SAMR had been the focus of a raid by the EPA
and multiple law-enforcement agencies last October.
SAMR received the EPA fine under the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, which forbids the export of certain CRTs unless the exporters notify, and receive, consent from the agency.
"This case demonstrates that the illegal export of electronic waste will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," said EPA Acting Regional Administrator George Pavlou.
The fine will become final, unless SAMR requests a hearing on the matter within 30 days, which the company has reportedly done.This raises the question, "Is there really any responsible recycler for CRT and Monitors that can truly reuse the glass?" With only one true CRT and Monitor glass recycling facility in North America, the choice is clear, www.CaliResources.com
Best Practices for a
Green IT Business
Premier IT Channel Event in North America
Features Best Practices for Green IT Business
A powerful lineup of industry experts address recycling, data wiping,
electronic waste, state regulations, and best practices for the IT
community at the CompTIA Breakaway 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Las Vegas, Nevada, August 2, 2009 GREEN IT represents unprecedented
opportunity to create new sources of revenue in all aspects of the
product lifecycle and is necessary under newly introduced legislation.
DeAnne Toto, Managing Editor for the Recycling Today Media Group, will
review the economic conditions impacted by fluctuations in Metals and
Commodities. Mike Wendy, Director of Public Affairs at CompTIA, will
provide relevant information on current state legislation and the
patchwork quilt of changing regulations. Carlos Kelvin, a fifteen year
recycling industry veteran and president of Cali Resources, provides the
important viewpoint of recycler activities and what to look for in a
partner. Tim Hebert, Vice President of Research at CompTIA, will unveil
the results of two Green IT surveys conducted by CompTIA. John Mehrmann,
Vice President of Business Development at ZSL Inc, will review results
of Green IT initiatives to date, a roadmap for the future, and
opportunities. ZSL Inc has developed software for Recyclers, Collectors,
and Material Handlers to accurately identify and track source,
processing, and destination of products, parts, and materials.
Watch the Full Video of the presentations in Part 1
Part 1 - Video, 60:00
Watch the Summary Wrap up in Part 2
Part 2 - Video 30:00
Oregon E-Cycles
numbers keep pace
Oregon's state-mandated
manufacturer responsibility electronics recycling program, Oregon
E-Cycles, announced its most recent collection numbers, taking in 9.54
million pounds of TVs, computers, and monitors for recycling during the
first six months of 2009, of which 56 percent were TVs, 33 percent
monitors and the remaining 11 percent were computers. "The proportion of
waste was consistent with the first quarter the predicted tsunami of
analog TVs from the digital changeover has not hit the Oregon
shoreline," according to the press release sent by the program.
CIWMB finds e-cycler
fraudulently asking for payment
At its most recent
regular meeting, the California Integrated Waste Management Board upheld
the revocation of the Electronic Recycling Center (ERC) of Pomona's
approved recycler status due to false collection logs submitted by the
company. ERC had appealed its April 17th approval revocation, which had
found that the company had "knowingly used collection logs with false
source entries to fraudulently request recovery and recycling payments,"
according to the CIWMB.
"Today's proposed decision does not specify who originally established the false collection logs, but it does correctly hold ERC responsible for attempting to seek payment by using them," Program Manager Jeff Hunts said in a prepared comment at the board meeting. "Approved participants in the covered electronic waste recycling system who fail to exercise heightened vigilance with handlers, and then submit false source documentation for handler-collected e-waste, expose themselves not only to significant operating losses from payment denials, but also from stronger enforcement action such as this, where the Board can shut down their eligibility to claim revenue from the State."
ERC had exercised its right to appeal the decision before a hearing officer, which recommended upholding the revocation, and the board agreeing after consideration
EPA nabs two more
CRT Rule offenders
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
announced last
week that both W and E International Trading Co. and SM Metals illegally
exported over 500 cathode-ray tube computer monitors to Hong Kong, in
violation of the EPA's
CRT Rule.
A shipping container holding the CRTs was discovered in April by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, which returned it to the Port of Tacoma (Washington) and notified the EPA of its action in May.
Texas-based W and E International Trading Co. and SM Metals, out of Lakewood, Washington, have both been ordered by the EPA to submit a detailed inventory of the items, and to develop a plan for management and disposal of the electronic waste.Looking for a safe and responsible way to recycle CRTs and Monitors? Visit www.CaliResources.com
Hammer falls on CRT
export scam
Embattled electronics
processor EarthEcycle has allegedly exported two 40-foot containers of
electronic waste to South Africa, as noted in a complaint filed on July
2nd by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to the
complaint, 2,016 non-working, broken and improperly stacked CRT displays
were reportedly discovered by South African customs officials, when
monitors positioned next to the doors were not packed properly and fell
out upon the containers being opened for inspection. The EPA complaint
is in addition to allegations that EarthEcycle illegally exported
hazardous material to Hong Kong.
The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company originally came under fire after an investigation by the Basel Action Network, following a collection event the company held for a Pennsylvania branch of the Humane Society. The company has partnerships with six charitable organizations to recycle electronics and donate proceeds from the collection events; however, the status of those partnerships has been thrown into question as evidence of illegal activity mounts.
EarthEcycle had until July 22nd to request a hearing on the complaint or contest the allegations, though the EPA did not release whether or not the company chose to do so. Additionally, the EPA has ordered the company to arrange for the return of the collected material so it can be processed responsibly. EarthEcycle will be fined $37,500 for each day it fails to comply.CRT Recycling Scams often involve collectors and companies that claim to recycle CRTs and Monitors which are actually stored in warehouses, landfills, or illegally shipped overseas. Fortunately, there is one true CRT recycler in North America. Cali Resources is the only facility in North America to recycle CRTs and Monitors for reuse. www.CaliResources.com
Panasonic shoots
lasers for TV recycling
Tokyo-based electronics
giant Panasonic is using lasers as a novel method to separate the front
plate from the funnel of CRTs for processing. Typically, a hot wire is
used to melt the seam between the two pieces of a CRT tube, which can be
a slow process Panasonic says that it could process 24 CRTs per hour
using a hot wire. Using the laser process the company developed, it can
process 72 tubes hourly. The new system has the laser run across all
four sides as the CRT is rotated, creating a stress crack. Using a
chisel, the tube is then split by a sharp hit to the crack. The system
can handle CRTs with diagonal screen sizes between 14 and 36 inches,
greater than the hot wire method, and the cut is cleaner, says
Panasonic.
The new processing method was developed by Panasonic Corp. and Panasonic
Eco Technology Co., Ltd., which is based in Kato, Japan
CEA calls on TV
owners to dispose of old sets properly
The
CEA is urging owners of now-outdated analog TV sets to dispose of them
properly. To help in that regard, CEA directed people to a
Web site containing take-back and recycling programs offered by a
host of manufacturers and retailers.
Dealerscope
(6/19)
,
TWICE
(6/18)
Goodwill and Dell add
seven states to take-back program
Goodwill Industries
International and Dell, Inc. announced the expansion of their
Reconnect
free e-scrap drop-off program to seven new states. With the addition of
451 donation sites from seven statewide programs in Colorado, Illinois,
Indiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and West Virginia — as well as
recent expansions in Wisconsin — Reconnect now includes more than 1,400
Goodwill sites around the country.
"Our partnership
with Goodwill makes recycling incredibly convenient for consumers," says
Mike Watson, senior manager of Dell Global Recycling Services. "We
believe it should be as easy to recycle a computer as it is to purchase
one."
The Reconnect program is now available in 18 states and the District of
Columbia.
Last month, Dell
announced a formal ban
on the export of e-scrap generated by its operations, which also is in
effect for any equipment collected under the Reconnect partnership.