IAER ELECTRONICS RECYCLING NEWSLETTER

JUNE 2007

INDUSTRY NEWS

LEGISLATIVE NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

· Minnesota

(E-Scrap News, Recycling Today, and GreenBiz.com)

On May 8, the Governor of Minnesota signed into law a comprehensive electronics recycling program – making it the fifth state in the U.S. to approve a state-wide program. The “producer responsibility bill … requires manufacturers to pay for collection and recycling of electronic waste from households … (and) is the first bill in the country to set actual targets for how much equipment the manufacturers must take back and recycle, measured as a percent of the products they are selling in the state.”

· Oregon

(E-Scrap News – May 17 & 29, 2007)

A producer responsibility bill has unanimously passed the Oregon Legislature and is expected to be signed by the Governor, which may make it the sixth state with an electronics recycling program. The “comprehensive recovery program for the collection and recycling of used and obsolete electronic equipment” covers computers and TVs at no cost to consumers.

· Texas

(E-Scrap News – May 11 & 29, 2007)

An “extended producer responsibility” bill for computer equipment has passed the Texas House of Representatives and the Senate. The “Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer Convenience Computer Equipment Collection and Recovery Act” is a “shared responsibility” program that will be “free of charge to consumers”.

· EIA

(E-Scrap News – May 25, 2007)

The Electronic Industries Alliance “released a framework for a federal electronics legislation that is supported by both television and computer manufacturers.” The proposed approach includes an Advance Recovery Fee for TVs and an industry funded program for computer equipment.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

· Japan

(E-Scrap News – April 27, 2007)

Based on research at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a new process was announced for a highly efficient method of extracting precious metals from electronics scrap.

· Canada

(E-Scrap News – April 27, 2007)

“The Saskatchewan Waste Electronics Equipment Program announced that it had recovered more than 500,000 pounds of e-scrap from area residents and businesses” in its first 3 months of operation.

OTHER RELATED NEWS

· California

(E-Scrap News – May 11, 2007)

“The California Integrated Waste Management Board announced … that almost one million pounds of scrap electronics were collected during 45 Earth Day electronic recycling collection events … (and that) the amount of e-scrap collected more than doubled from 2005 to 2006, from 65 million pounds to approximately 129 million pounds”.

· EPA Report

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a report on “Electronics Waste Management in the United States” – an update to its “Baseline Report” first released more than five years ago. Highlights of the report were presented at the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT® (see below). The report is available on the EPA website at: http://www.epa.gov/ecycling/manage.htm

· “E-Waste Worth More than Gold”

(Reverse Logistics News – May 23, 2007)

A report by Foreign Policy titled “Inside the Digital Dump” claimed that “every ton of discarded electronic equipment contains 17 times more gold than gold ore and 40 times more copper than copper ore … (and) between 20 and 50 million tons of electronic waste is generated globally every year”.

INDUSTRY EVENTS

ISEE-SUMMIT EVENT - May 7-10, 2007

The IAER held the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT® in conjunction with the ISEE conference on May 7-10, 2007 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL.

The Electronics Recycling Summit® had a full program, including:

2 IERI Short Courses
5 SUMMIT Sessions – including a special panel on “Electronics Recycling Issues” and the first presentation of the new EPA Baseline Report.
Exhibits
Networking Event – at Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island
Optional programs on Thursday, May 10 - including

· National Best Management Practices Information Meeting

IAER NEWS

IAER MEETINGS

In conjunction with the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT®, the IAER held a number of meetings, including:

· IAER Members Meeting

o A summary of the IAER Members Meeting will be posted on the IAER Members-Only website.

· IAER Officers/Directors Meeting

o A summary of the IAER Officers/Directors Meeting will be posted on the IAER Members-Only website.

· IAER Committee Meetings:

o Standards & Certification

o Wireless Recycling

o Education

IAER Board of Directors Meeting

On May 23 & 24, the IAER held its annual face-to-face Board of Directors Meeting. The IAER Board also conducts teleconference meetings periodically throughout the year, as needed. The members of the IAER Board of Directors and summaries of their meetings are posted on the IAER Members-Only website.

IAER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM – NEW RELEASE

During the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT®, the IAER announced a new release of the IAER Certification Program. The IAER Standards & Certification Committee completed a year-long effort of revising the IAER Certification Standard and supporting documents involved in the IAER certification process. The revisions focused on expanding, strengthening and re-organizing requirements to be consistent with all the key elements of the EPA’s draft “Best Management Practices for Electronics Recycling” (BMPs) – particularly in areas such as control of materials of concern, downstream due diligence and risk management, tracking records, reuse and refurbishment.

Click here for more information on Release 2.1 – including the News Release and revised IAER Certification Standard.

Many companies are now taking advantage of IAER Certification – and the cost efficient process that was introduced last year.

If your company is not sure about pursuing IAER Certification, visit the web page on: “The Benefits of being a Certified Electronics Recycler®”.

To recognize those that have achieved IAER certification, a webpage has been established that provides access to the public to all current Certified Electronics Recyclers.

IAER ELECTRONICS RECYCLING INDUSTRY REPORT – 2006

The IAER partnered with Resource Recycling/E-Scrap News to publish a 2006 update to the Electronics Recycling Industry Report®. It includes new surveys of the electronics recycling industry in the U.S. as well as comprehensive new research on the trends and developments that drive the industry. This report contains current information that is essential for anyone involved or interested in the electronics recycling industry – with even more data and illustrations than the original 2003 Report. For more information and to order the Report, go to the web page at: http://www.iaer.org/communications/indreport.htm

Highlights of the Industry Report were presented at last year’s ISEE/SUMMIT event. You can go to the SUMMIT 2006 web page and click on “Presentations from the SUMMIT program” and then look for the “Highlights” presentation in Session#1.

Updates to the Industry Report were also presented at this year’s SUMMIT and will be posted on the SUMMIT 2007 webpage in the near future.

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS

(From News Releases, Recycling Today, Reverse Logistics, GreenBiz.com and E-Scrap News)

· Intechra (IAER Member) – announced that it secured US$30 million in equity funding to “fund acquisitions and support the company’s overall growth strategy”. Separately, Intechra announced that it “collected more than 40 tons of used electronics during the Earth Day weekend in the seven communities where it has facilities nationwide.”

· UNICOR (IAER Member) – announced “the opening of three new recycling locations … (that) will bring UNICOR recycling operations total to eight processing centers and five collection centers”. The newest processing facility will be in Leavenworth, KA.

· Blancco (IAER Member) – announced that is has been “approved and included in the NATO Information Assurance Catalog” for the erasure of hard drives.

· Apex Technology Solutions – announced a partnership with Charitable Recycling Ink “to offer full-circle solution to recycling and limiting electronic waste”.

· Sims Recycling Solutions – “has formalized its acquisition of the end of life recycling assets of Noranda Recycling”. Separately, Sims announced a new electronics recycling facility in Belgium – its eighth plant in Europe. Sims also announced an agreement with Nortel “to handle of the electronics manufacturer’s e-scrap in Europe”.

· MBA Polymers – “secured a US$20 million funding round … to expand the number of factories it operates in Europe and Asia”.

Other Companies and Organizations

· IBM (IAER Member) – announced “a new set of asset recovery offerings as part of ‘The Project Big Green’ campaign to help clients with less energy efficient data centers step up to greener technologies”.

· Staples – announced a nationwide computer recycling service in all of its stores in the U.S. “All brands will be accepted, regardless of whether or not the equipment was purchased at
Staples, for a fee of $10 per large item.” Amandi Services (IAER Sustaining Member) will provide the electronics recycling services for the program.

· Intel – announced that it will begin phasing out the use of lead in its microprocessor chips starting this year with its fastest products.

· Apple – announced “that it will offer free takeback and recycling of computers and peripherals from any manufacturer to education institutions across the country” for a limited time – until June 30. Separately, Apple announced “that its iPod take-back program will expand from the U.S. to Apple retail stores worldwide”. Apple also announced “timelines for phasing out toxic chemicals … and a promise to explore shrinking the ‘carbon footprint’ of its products”.

· Dell – announced that “it will stop producing CRT monitors and instead increasingly only produce flat-screen panel displays” – substantially reducing its use of lead.

	IAER ELECTRONICS RECYCLING NEWSLETTER JUNE 2007 INDUSTRY NEWS LEGISLATIVE NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING · Minnesota (E-Scrap News, Recycling Today, and GreenBiz.com) On May 8, the Governor of Minnesota signed into law a comprehensive electronics recycling program – making it the fifth state in the U.S. to approve a state-wide program. The “producer responsibility bill … requires manufacturers to pay for collection and recycling of electronic waste from households … (and) is the first bill in the country to set actual targets for how much equipment the manufacturers must take back and recycle, measured as a percent of the products they are selling in the state.” · Oregon (E-Scrap News – May 17 & 29, 2007) A producer responsibility bill has unanimously passed the Oregon Legislature and is expected to be signed by the Governor, which may make it the sixth state with an electronics recycling program. The “comprehensive recovery program for the collection and recycling of used and obsolete electronic equipment” covers computers and TVs at no cost to consumers. · Texas (E-Scrap News – May 11 & 29, 2007) An “extended producer responsibility” bill for computer equipment has passed the Texas House of Representatives and the Senate. The “Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer Convenience Computer Equipment Collection and Recovery Act” is a “shared responsibility” program that will be “free of charge to consumers”. · EIA (E-Scrap News – May 25, 2007) The Electronic Industries Alliance “released a framework for a federal electronics legislation that is supported by both television and computer manufacturers.” The proposed approach includes an Advance Recovery Fee for TVs and an industry funded program for computer equipment. INTERNATIONAL NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING · Japan (E-Scrap News – April 27, 2007) Based on research at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a new process was announced for a highly efficient method of extracting precious metals from electronics scrap. · Canada (E-Scrap News – April 27, 2007) “The Saskatchewan Waste Electronics Equipment Program announced that it had recovered more than 500,000 pounds of e-scrap from area residents and businesses” in its first 3 months of operation. OTHER RELATED NEWS · California (E-Scrap News – May 11, 2007) “The California Integrated Waste Management Board announced … that almost one million pounds of scrap electronics were collected during 45 Earth Day electronic recycling collection events … (and that) the amount of e-scrap collected more than doubled from 2005 to 2006, from 65 million pounds to approximately 129 million pounds”. · EPA Report The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a report on “Electronics Waste Management in the United States” – an update to its “Baseline Report” first released more than five years ago. Highlights of the report were presented at the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT® (see below). The report is available on the EPA website at: http://www.epa.gov/ecycling/manage.htm · “E-Waste Worth More than Gold” (Reverse Logistics News – May 23, 2007) A report by Foreign Policy titled “Inside the Digital Dump” claimed that “every ton of discarded electronic equipment contains 17 times more gold than gold ore and 40 times more copper than copper ore … (and) between 20 and 50 million tons of electronic waste is generated globally every year”. INDUSTRY EVENTS ISEE-SUMMIT EVENT - May 7-10, 2007 The IAER held the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT® in conjunction with the ISEE conference on May 7-10, 2007 at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL. The Electronics Recycling Summit® had a full program, including: 2 IERI Short Courses 5 SUMMIT Sessions – including a special panel on “Electronics Recycling Issues” and the first presentation of the new EPA Baseline Report. Exhibits Networking Event – at Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island Optional programs on Thursday, May 10 - including · National Best Management Practices Information Meeting Sponsored by the U.S. EPA · Electronics Recycling Simulation Workshop Sponsored by Thomson, Inc. · TOUR - Orange County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility – including the collection of scrap electronics for recycling Sponsored by the IAER *Highlights of 2007 Electronics Recycling SUMMIT® - including the complete program and a photo gallery can be found on the IAER website at: http://www.iaer.org/summit/* All of the SUMMIT presentations will be posted on the SUMMIT webpage in the near future. Electronics Recycling SUMMIT® - 2008 - ANNOUNCEMENT During the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT® - 2007, the IAER and ISRI announced that the 2008 SUMMIT event will be held in conjunction with next year’s ISRI annual convention – April 6-10, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. IERI EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM The International Electronics Recyclers Institute (IERI) – the educational affiliate organization of the IAER – announced its next educational program to be held in conjunction with the E-Scrap Conference on October 23 in Atlanta, GA. The IERI plans to hold three of its newest and most popular short courses: Downstream Due Diligence ( - in an expanded 8 hour course) Recycling Specialty Materials (4 hour course) Data Security (4 hour course) For more information, you can go to the E-Scrap webpage on the October 23 program (http://www.e-scrapnews.com/ - click on “Additional Educational Workshops”), and watch here for further details as they develop: IAER NEWS IAER MEETINGS In conjunction with the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT®, the IAER held a number of meetings, including: · IAER Members Meeting o A summary of the IAER Members Meeting will be posted on the IAER Members-Only website. · IAER Officers/Directors Meeting o A summary of the IAER Officers/Directors Meeting will be posted on the IAER Members-Only website. · IAER Committee Meetings: o Standards & Certification o Wireless Recycling o Education IAER Board of Directors Meeting On May 23 & 24, the IAER held its annual face-to-face Board of Directors Meeting. The IAER Board also conducts teleconference meetings periodically throughout the year, as needed. The members of the IAER Board of Directors and summaries of their meetings are posted on the IAER Members-Only website. IAER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM – NEW RELEASE During the Electronics Recycling SUMMIT®, the IAER announced a new release of the IAER Certification Program. The IAER Standards & Certification Committee completed a year-long effort of revising the IAER Certification Standard and supporting documents involved in the IAER certification process. The revisions focused on expanding, strengthening and re-organizing requirements to be consistent with all the key elements of the EPA’s draft “Best Management Practices for Electronics Recycling” (BMPs) – particularly in areas such as control of materials of concern, downstream due diligence and risk management, tracking records, reuse and refurbishment. Click here for more information on Release 2.1 – including the News Release and revised IAER Certification Standard. Many companies are now taking advantage of IAER Certification – and the cost efficient process that was introduced last year. *If your company is not sure about pursuing IAER Certification, visit the web page on: “The Benefits of being a Certified Electronics Recycler®”. To recognize those that have achieved IAER certification, a webpage has been established that provides access to the public to all current Certified Electronics Recyclers. IAER ELECTRONICS RECYCLING INDUSTRY REPORT – 2006* The IAER partnered with Resource Recycling/E-Scrap News to publish a 2006 update to the Electronics Recycling Industry Report®. It includes new surveys of the electronics recycling industry in the U.S. as well as comprehensive new research on the trends and developments that drive the industry. This report contains current information that is essential for anyone involved or interested in the electronics recycling industry – with even more data and illustrations than the original 2003 Report. For more information and to order the Report, go to the web page at: http://www.iaer.org/communications/indreport.htm Highlights of the Industry Report were presented at last year’s ISEE/SUMMIT event. You can go to the SUMMIT 2006 web page and click on “Presentations from the SUMMIT program” and then look for the “Highlights” presentation in Session#1. Updates to the Industry Report were also presented at this year’s SUMMIT and will be posted on the SUMMIT 2007 webpage in the near future. COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS (From News Releases, Recycling Today, Reverse Logistics, GreenBiz.com and E-Scrap News) · Intechra (IAER Member) – announced that it secured US$30 million in equity funding to “fund acquisitions and support the company’s overall growth strategy”. Separately, Intechra announced that it “collected more than 40 tons of used electronics during the Earth Day weekend in the seven communities where it has facilities nationwide.” · UNICOR (IAER Member) – announced “the opening of three new recycling locations … (that) will bring UNICOR recycling operations total to eight processing centers and five collection centers”. The newest processing facility will be in Leavenworth, KA. · Blancco (IAER Member) – announced that is has been “approved and included in the NATO Information Assurance Catalog” for the erasure of hard drives. · Apex Technology Solutions – announced a partnership with Charitable Recycling Ink “to offer full-circle solution to recycling and limiting electronic waste”. · Sims Recycling Solutions – “has formalized its acquisition of the end of life recycling assets of Noranda Recycling”. Separately, Sims announced a new electronics recycling facility in Belgium – its eighth plant in Europe. Sims also announced an agreement with Nortel “to handle of the electronics manufacturer’s e-scrap in Europe”. · MBA Polymers – “secured a US$20 million funding round … to expand the number of factories it operates in Europe and Asia”. Other Companies and Organizations · IBM (IAER Member) – announced “a new set of asset recovery offerings as part of ‘The Project Big Green’ campaign to help clients with less energy efficient data centers step up to greener technologies”. · Staples – announced a nationwide computer recycling service in all of its stores in the U.S. “All brands will be accepted, regardless of whether or not the equipment was purchased at Staples, for a fee of $10 per large item.” Amandi Services (IAER Sustaining Member) will provide the electronics recycling services for the program. · Intel – announced that it will begin phasing out the use of lead in its microprocessor chips starting this year with its fastest products. · Apple – announced “that it will offer free takeback and recycling of computers and peripherals from any manufacturer to education institutions across the country” for a limited time – until June 30. Separately, Apple announced “that its iPod take-back program will expand from the U.S. to Apple retail stores worldwide”. Apple also announced “timelines for phasing out toxic chemicals … and a promise to explore shrinking the ‘carbon footprint’ of its products”. · Dell – announced that “it will stop producing CRT monitors and instead increasingly only produce flat-screen panel displays” – substantially reducing its use of lead. Return to the main page