For much of the past decade, manufacturers have had a "piñata problem" whenever electronics recycling issues arose in state legislatures. If local government and recyclers hit the manufacturers (the piñata) with hard enough legislation, then treats such as manufacturer-financed recycling magically appeared.
Electronics recycling in just a few years in New Jersey has gone from a highly successful and widespread program that processed worn-out televisions and computers to one where a growing number of e-scrap collection sites are being abandoned.
In the past six months, e-scrap prices in China has bounced back strongly.
Accredited certification bodies use international standards and, increasingly, industry-specific additional performance requirements to audit product and service companies' processes to determine conformance and award certification.
North Carolina is home to a robust recycling industry that creates jobs, generates tax revenues and diverts significant tonnage from our local landfills.
When we surveyed over 30 organizations for our Electronics Recycling Landscape Report last year with the Sustainability Consortium, the vast majority had negative things to say about the current state of U.S. e-scrap recycling programs.
What were the major issues? Some cited the level of control that manufacturers were having on the pricing for recyclers.
The e-Trash Transparency Project from Basel Action Network has, once again, opened American and Chinese eyes to the horror show of America's global electronic waste dumping.
Robin Wiener[/caption]
Even after being in the scrap recycling industry for over 25 years, I am still amazed at how often we have to reeducate policymakers about the business.