CRT glass may be heading to California landfills — legally. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control has issued an emergency regulation that will allow recycling firms in the state to send some of their CRT glass material to approved landfills.

Even though it has made significant environmental health and safety improvements over the last several years, persistent complaints regarding UNICOR's e-scrap processing operations have now prompted new federal legislation targeting the company.

House Resolution 3634, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R — Michigan), would eliminate the mandatory source preference currently enjoyed by Federal Prison Industries, Inc.

Intercon Solutions, the e-scrap processor denied e-Stewards certification almost a year ago amid allegations of improper export of materials, has filed a suit against the Basel Action Network for defamation.

The complaint names both BAN and its executive director, Jim Puckett, and says the Seattle-based non-profit organization “unlawfully placed the company in a false light” when it alleged Intercon Solutions knowingly shipped hazardous waste to China.

Federal Prison Industries, Inc., better known as UNICOR, is once again facing a lawsuit regarding worker safety and environmental standards at its electronics recycling operations.

UNICOR, which operates an inmate work program at federal corrections facilities, has been processing electronic scrap for nearly two decades.

The number of R2 certified facilities is booming, according to the latest tally of facilities from R2 Solutions. As of this week, 215 facilities have been certified to R2, both in the U.S. and abroad. This translates into 140 companies with at least one certified facility. By contrast, 31 firms with 71 facilities have certified to e-Stewards. A closer examination of the data reveals interesting patterns about firms' certification strategies.

The Basel Action Network has announced that, effective immediately, the e-Stewards standard will now include all the elements of the R2 standard. Requirements for the multi-stakeholder R2 standard have been incorporated into e-Stewards, meaning e-Stewards certifying bodies – currently AQA International, Orion Registrar and QMI-SAI Global – will audit for both the R2 and e-Stewards standards.

E-scrap recycling company Regency Technologies has partnered with Dlubak Glass Company, a processor of scrap TV and PC monitors, on a joint operation that will recycle CRT glass.

Under the agreement, Regency Technologies will open a new location in Upper Sandusky, Ohio adjacent to Dlubak Glass. The companies are hoping that the arrangement will allow them to completely breakdown, dismantle and recycle devices containing CRT glass. Regency Technologies will dismantle the devices and send glass to Dlubak, which will process the material using a furnace.

A researcher in China says that 88 percent of the blood samples taken from children in Guiyu, China clearly show lead poisoning. The findings are made more significant by their publication in the government-owned China Daily.

A relatively new organization calling itself the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling is urging Congress to pass the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act – and is specifically calling for restrictions on the export of electronic scrap to developing countries.

The CAER includes a growing roster of 29 U.S. electronics recycling firms, which operate 74 recycling facilities in 34 states, and includes a range of firms including refurbishers, scrap processors and refiners.

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries unveiled the results of a comprehensive survey of the U.S. electronics recycling industry at the 2011 E-Scrap Conference held in Orlando, Florida. Eric Harris, director of government and international affairs for ISRI, told attendees at the opening conference plenary session that that the organization undertook the survey in response to growing speculation and a desire to get some solid data on the U.S. market. Perhaps the most noteworthy finding of the survey, which was conducted by International Data Corporation and asked 182 U.S.