IAER ELECTRONICS RECYCLING NEWSLETTER

JULY 2007

INDUSTRY NEWS

FEATURE STORIES ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

· U.N. Meeting

(GreenBiz.com – May 29, 2007)

Members of the global public-private initiative on “Solving the E-Waste Problem” (StEP) met at U.N. headquarters with a focus on “their message e-scrap need not be hazardous to human health or the environment – as long as it’s properly managed … Every year, the world generates 40 million metric tons of electronic scrap … The (EU) … generated 8.5 million metric tons of electronic waste, but recycling companies only handled 0.5 million tons.” The global demand for metals – especially precious and rare metals – has been increasing the value of electronic scrap. “The large price spikes for all these special elements that rely on the production of metals like zinc, copper, lead or platinum underline that supply security at affordable prices cannot be guaranteed indefinitely unless efficient recycling loops are established to recover them from old products … The price of indium, for example … has risen six-fold.”

· Converting CRTs

(ioltechnology.co.za – June 6, 2007)

In a region where abuses have been reported in the disposal of electronic scrap, there been an interesting development of innovative recycling. As part of program launched by Computers for Schools Kenya, a method was developed “of converting computer screens into battery-or-solar-powered, high resolution televisions … (where) owners of the adapted televisions do not only rave about the clarity of the screen’s picture but also the inventions cheap price.”

· Obsolete TVs

(Los Angeles Times – June 3, 2007)

More and more organizations and individuals are beginning to worry about the implications of the transition to all digital television transmission that will obsolete analog TVs. “There’s going to be an e-waste tsunami that hits America” as huge volumes of old TVs are expected to enter the waste stream in 2009. It is estimated that there are 268 million TV sets in U.S. households.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

(from NCER and E-Scrap Newsletters)

· Oregon – A producer responsibility bill was signed by the Governor.

· Texas - A producer responsibility bill was signed by the Governor.

· Connecticut – A law similar to Maine’s producer responsibility legislation was enacted, which also includes a provision to “ban the disposal of electronic devices from landfill by 2011”.

· U.S. Senate – A bill was introduced to “provide companies that purchase new recycling equipment accelerated depreciation of their investments”.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

· Korea

(Circuits Assembly – May 29, 2007)

A draft regulation similar to RoHS was opened for public comment. It “contains recycling methods and standards of electrical and electronic equipment; submission of a recycling requirement implementation plan … (and) report; and standards for the registration of end-of-life vehicle recyclers”.

· India

(Chennai Online News Service – June 24, 2007)

Legislation has been proposed in Bangalore, an “IT hub” in India, which “generates … about 8,000 tonnes of e-waste annually” to encourage electronics recycling.

· China

(People’s Daily Online – June 14, 2007)

A market in Guangdong Province that had been reported to be importing illegal electronic waste was raided by law enforcement officials, equipment seized and “shut down”.

· Canada

(E-Scrap News – June 14, 2007)

Ontario initiated an effort to develop “an ARF-based system, such as those in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan”.

OTHER RELATED NEWS

· EIA

(Recycling Today – June 14, 2007 & CNET News – June 21, 2007)

The Electronic Industries Alliance announced a “consensus proposal endorsed by computer and TV manufacturers to meet the nation’s electronics recycling challenge … This plan would pave the way for federal legislation establishing a national program. The industry framework calls for a bifurcated financing approach, separating TVs from desktop computers, laptops and computer monitors to reflect their divergent business models, market composition and consumer base … Under the EIA proposal, TV collection and recycling would be primarily conducted by an industry-sponsored third party organization and initially supported by a nominal fee paid by consumers at the point of purchase. Once a significant number of so-called ‘legacy’ sets are recovered, the fee would expire …The EIA proposal calls for each producer of IT equipment to implement a program to collect and recycle its products in a manner that is convenient for household consumers and at no cost to them. All programs … will have to ensure that they rely solely on service providers that satisfy established environmentally sound management standards and business practices.” Also included are provisions supporting RoHS materials restrictions and federal government purchases of products that meet EPEAT requirements.

To view a copy of the EIA legislative framework, you can go to the website at: http://www.eia.org/resources/eia_electronics_recycling_framework.pdf

· Printer Cartridges

(E-Scrap News – June 29, 2007)

A study reported that “80 percent of previously recycled remanufactured toner cartridges are tossed by printer cartridge remanufacturers with little knowledge of where the empty cartridges end up … (and that) original equipment manufacturers recycle what cartridges they do collect … (However) the report found that Europe does a far better job of managing printer effluvia.”

· Rechargeable Batteries

(E-Scrap News – June 6, 2007)

Under California’s Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of 2006 (enacted on July 1, 2006), “retail establishments must provide consumers a free system for returning the batteries for recycling or proper disposal”. To date “over 440,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries have been recovered” by one of the major programs, which was set up by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation.

· EPEAT

(E-Scrap News – June8 & 22, 2007)

HP became “the first company to offer a product that achieves ‘gold’ status” (to the EPEAT standard) – for a desktop PC. Dell then became the first to achieve that level for a laptop computer.

· Recycling Plastics

(IC Wales – May 29, 2007)

Researchers at Swansea University (Wales) are developing “methods of recycling plastics from electrical equipment, including computers” based on density and pyrolysis processes.

· Recycling CRT Glass

(Materials Recycling Week – June 19, 2007)

CRT Recycling (U.K.) and RTG (Germany) announced a partnership “in an industrial scale recycling plant for cathode ray tube glass … (using a) new technology … (that will facilitate) marketing significant tonnages of processed CRT glass as refined raw material rather than as a by-product of the waste treatment of televisions’.

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 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 have been posted on the SUMMIT 2007 webpage.

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

· WeRecycle! (IAER Member) – announced receiving a $500,000 grant from New York State’s Empire State Development “to open an e-scrap processing facility in Mount Vernon, NY.”

· Round2 Technologies (IAER Member) – announced the opening of a new warehouse facility in Houston, TX

· American Electronics Recycling (IAER Member) – “has selected a Metal Finder 1200 System from Wendt Corp. … for its newly opened scrap processing facility in Sarasota (FL).”

· Waste Management (IAER Member) – “acquired the LampTracker business, the nation’s first provider of mail-back recycling for fluorescent lighting”.

· Goodwill (IAER Member) – partnered with Dell in a “joint program called Reconnect, which will allow consumers to recycle unwanted computers for free across New Jersey and Philadelphia.

· eCycle Solutions (Alberta, Canada) – received a $5.5 million investment “to implement long-term business goals, including further expansion into various North American markets”.

Other Companies and Organizations

· NCER (IAER Member) – announced a redesign of their Centralized Data Repository to be more user-friendly – providing “up-to-date information on the collection and recycling of electronics” at: http://www.electronicsrecycling.org/cdr/

· Microsoft – announced “that it will finance a plan to ship refurbished computers to Africa”.

· Wal-Mart – “Sam’s Club stores (in Ontario, Canada) have partnered with e-scrap processor Greentec (IAER Member) to provide free electronic recycling for club members”.

	IAER ELECTRONICS RECYCLING NEWSLETTER JULY 2007 INDUSTRY NEWS FEATURE STORIES ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING · U.N. Meeting (GreenBiz.com – May 29, 2007) Members of the global public-private initiative on “Solving the E-Waste Problem” (StEP) met at U.N. headquarters with a focus on “their message e-scrap need not be hazardous to human health or the environment – as long as it’s properly managed … Every year, the world generates 40 million metric tons of electronic scrap … The (EU) … generated 8.5 million metric tons of electronic waste, but recycling companies only handled 0.5 million tons.” The global demand for metals – especially precious and rare metals – has been increasing the value of electronic scrap. “The large price spikes for all these special elements that rely on the production of metals like zinc, copper, lead or platinum underline that supply security at affordable prices cannot be guaranteed indefinitely unless efficient recycling loops are established to recover them from old products … The price of indium, for example … has risen six-fold.” · Converting CRTs (ioltechnology.co.za – June 6, 2007) In a region where abuses have been reported in the disposal of electronic scrap, there been an interesting development of innovative recycling. As part of program launched by Computers for Schools Kenya, a method was developed “of converting computer screens into battery-or-solar-powered, high resolution televisions … (where) owners of the adapted televisions do not only rave about the clarity of the screen’s picture but also the inventions cheap price.” · Obsolete TVs (Los Angeles Times – June 3, 2007) More and more organizations and individuals are beginning to worry about the implications of the transition to all digital television transmission that will obsolete analog TVs. “There’s going to be an e-waste tsunami that hits America” as huge volumes of old TVs are expected to enter the waste stream in 2009. It is estimated that there are 268 million TV sets in U.S. households. LEGISLATIVE NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING (from NCER and E-Scrap Newsletters) · Oregon – A producer responsibility bill was signed by the Governor. · Texas - A producer responsibility bill was signed by the Governor. · Connecticut – A law similar to Maine’s producer responsibility legislation was enacted, which also includes a provision to “ban the disposal of electronic devices from landfill by 2011”. · U.S. Senate – A bill was introduced to “provide companies that purchase new recycling equipment accelerated depreciation of their investments”. INTERNATIONAL NEWS ON ELECTRONICS RECYCLING · Korea (Circuits Assembly – May 29, 2007) A draft regulation similar to RoHS was opened for public comment. It “contains recycling methods and standards of electrical and electronic equipment; submission of a recycling requirement implementation plan … (and) report; and standards for the registration of end-of-life vehicle recyclers”. · India (Chennai Online News Service – June 24, 2007) Legislation has been proposed in Bangalore, an “IT hub” in India, which “generates … about 8,000 tonnes of e-waste annually” to encourage electronics recycling. · China (People’s Daily Online – June 14, 2007) A market in Guangdong Province that had been reported to be importing illegal electronic waste was raided by law enforcement officials, equipment seized and “shut down”. · Canada (E-Scrap News – June 14, 2007) Ontario initiated an effort to develop “an ARF-based system, such as those in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan”. OTHER RELATED NEWS · EIA (Recycling Today – June 14, 2007 & CNET News – June 21, 2007) The Electronic Industries Alliance announced a “consensus proposal endorsed by computer and TV manufacturers to meet the nation’s electronics recycling challenge … This plan would pave the way for federal legislation establishing a national program. The industry framework calls for a bifurcated financing approach, separating TVs from desktop computers, laptops and computer monitors to reflect their divergent business models, market composition and consumer base … Under the EIA proposal, TV collection and recycling would be primarily conducted by an industry-sponsored third party organization and initially supported by a nominal fee paid by consumers at the point of purchase. Once a significant number of so-called ‘legacy’ sets are recovered, the fee would expire …The EIA proposal calls for each producer of IT equipment to implement a program to collect and recycle its products in a manner that is convenient for household consumers and at no cost to them. All programs … will have to ensure that they rely solely on service providers that satisfy established environmentally sound management standards and business practices.” Also included are provisions supporting RoHS materials restrictions and federal government purchases of products that meet EPEAT requirements. To view a copy of the EIA legislative framework, you can go to the website at: http://www.eia.org/resources/eia_electronics_recycling_framework.pdf · Printer Cartridges (E-Scrap News – June 29, 2007) A study reported that “80 percent of previously recycled remanufactured toner cartridges are tossed by printer cartridge remanufacturers with little knowledge of where the empty cartridges end up … (and that) original equipment manufacturers recycle what cartridges they do collect … (However) the report found that Europe does a far better job of managing printer effluvia.” · Rechargeable Batteries (E-Scrap News – June 6, 2007) Under California’s Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of 2006 (enacted on July 1, 2006), “retail establishments must provide consumers a free system for returning the batteries for recycling or proper disposal”. To date “over 440,000 pounds of rechargeable batteries have been recovered” by one of the major programs, which was set up by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. · EPEAT (E-Scrap News – June8 & 22, 2007) HP became “the first company to offer a product that achieves ‘gold’ status” (to the EPEAT standard) – for a desktop PC. Dell then became the first to achieve that level for a laptop computer. · Recycling Plastics (IC Wales – May 29, 2007) Researchers at Swansea University (Wales) are developing “methods of recycling plastics from electrical equipment, including computers” based on density and pyrolysis processes. · Recycling CRT Glass (Materials Recycling Week – June 19, 2007) CRT Recycling (U.K.) and RTG (Germany) announced a partnership “in an industrial scale recycling plant for cathode ray tube glass … (using a) new technology … (that will facilitate) marketing significant tonnages of processed CRT glass as refined raw material rather than as a by-product of the waste treatment of televisions’. 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 have now also been posted on the* *SUMMIT* *webpage.* 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 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 have been posted on the SUMMIT 2007 webpage.* COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENTS (From News Releases, Recycling Today, Reverse Logistics, GreenBiz.com and E-Scrap News) · WeRecycle! (IAER Member) – announced receiving a $500,000 grant from New York State’s Empire State Development “to open an e-scrap processing facility in Mount Vernon, NY.” · Round2 Technologies (IAER Member) – announced the opening of a new warehouse facility in Houston, TX · American Electronics Recycling (IAER Member) – “has selected a Metal Finder 1200 System from Wendt Corp. … for its newly opened scrap processing facility in Sarasota (FL).” · Waste Management (IAER Member) – “acquired the LampTracker business, the nation’s first provider of mail-back recycling for fluorescent lighting”. · Goodwill (IAER Member) – partnered with Dell in a “joint program called Reconnect, which will allow consumers to recycle unwanted computers for free across New Jersey and Philadelphia. · eCycle Solutions (Alberta, Canada) – received a $5.5 million investment “to implement long-term business goals, including further expansion into various North American markets”. Other Companies and Organizations · NCER (IAER Member) – announced a redesign of their Centralized Data Repository to be more user-friendly – providing “up-to-date information on the collection and recycling of electronics” at: http://www.electronicsrecycling.org/cdr/ · Microsoft – announced “that it will finance a plan to ship refurbished computers to Africa”. · Wal-Mart – “Sam’s Club stores (in Ontario, Canada) have partnered with e-scrap processor Greentec (IAER Member) to provide free electronic recycling for club members”. Return to the main page