News

Collection numbers for Washington's e-scrap program could provide a glimmer of hope that CRT device tonnages have plateaued. E-Cycle Washington, the free, statewide e-scrap recycling program funded by original equipment manufacturers, has hauled in 25.51 million pounds of electronics thus far in 2014, according to the latest monthly report released by the state.

In a report assessing its progress on electronics stewardship, the federal government indicated it is moving forward on major studies in several e-scrap-related areas, including a look at how the e-Stewards and R2 standards are being implemented. The study on the effectiveness of industry certifications is mentioned in an update to the National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship (NSES), which was released earlier this week by the Interagency Task Force on Electronics Stew

A just-released federal report sheds light on the numerous occupational health and safety dangers that likely exist at e-scrap firms throughout the country. The report, released this month by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), shares findings from a series of site visits conducted between 2012 and 2013 at the request of an undisclosed e-scrap firm in the U.S.

A Wyoming e-scrap operation with CRT glass on its hands has abruptly closed. Located off of I-80 in Burns, Wyoming Tatooine Electronic Systems closed its doors in the beginning of July without any announcement or forewarning. The closure appears to have coincided with the arrest of company owner and CEO Jeffrey Stumpf, who has been charged with six counts of sexual assault and five counts of sexual offense. Stumpf is currently being held on $50,000 bail at the Laramie County jail.

Stone Castle Recycling, which has been mired in an ongoing back-and-forth with Utah state regulators, recently experienced its second fire of the year. On July 8, a fire broke out at one of Stone Castle Recycling's e-scrap facilities, requiring firefighters from the area to work for 13 hours to put it out.

A U.K. businessman has been sent to jail for exporting e-scrap to Africa.

Joe Benson, an Essex-based e-scrap processor and CEO of BJ Electronics, was sentenced to serve 16 months in jail following an investigation by the Environment Agency (EA).

In a move bound to have ripple effects throughout the industry, a pillar of the e-scrap world has announced major closings in Canada and the U.K.

Sims Recycling Solutions (SRS), the e-scrap division of publicly traded Sims Metal Management, announced the sudden closures on Tuesday. All three of SRS' Canadian sites will be closing – accounting for nearly 300,000 square feet of processing space – and "a substantial portion of SRS in the U.K." will also close, the initial announcement reads.

In a sign of the increasingly tight CRT market, regulators in California have moved to increase the payments issued to firms that collect and/or process lower value electronics to help them fully cover recycling costs.

Jeff Hunts, branch manager of the e-waste program at California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), issued a Request for Approval last week to boost the collection payment for materials in the covered electronic waste (CEW) category from 16 cents per pound to 18 cents per pound.

A CRT-collecting e-scrap firm in Utah has come under extensive state-level scrutiny for being slow to address operational miscues identified by regulators. The issues allegedly facing Stone Castle Recycling, which include improper storage of CRT glass, large outdoor and indoor stockpiles of various material and "deficiencies" in current plans of operation, were detailed in a pair of letters to the firm from Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) over the past several months. The most recent letter, dated May 22 and obtained by E-Scrap News through a public records reques

The founder of an embroiled East Coast e-scrap company is being sued for allegedly misrepresenting the firm's value. Jonathan Yob, who founded and served as the president of Creative Recycling Systems (CRS) for 18 years, is at the center of a lawsuit claiming Yob overstated the value of CRS when it was sold in 2012 to a group of investors.