Exports

In just under eight months, U.S. e-scrap companies looking to export end-of-life devices will face a dramatically different regulatory landscape that, under some readings, will prohibit the movement of most e-scrap materials from the U.S. to the vast majority of foreign countries.

Leaders of the R2 and e-Stewards certification standards present a joint opinion on the importance of industry compliance with new global trade rules regulating exports of plastics recovered from electronics.

Exporting end-of-life devices from California has long been a heavily regulated process. This year, lawmakers added another requirement that exporters first prove in-state recycling options were unavailable.

Exports watchdog Basel Action Network is barking. The group says U.S. e-scrap companies are illegally exporting e-plastics to Malaysia, and it has issued a warning.

One of Canada's largest electronics recycling companies, eCycle Solutions, says Canadian leaders' plan to restrict e-scrap exports will complicate shipments of circuit boards to smelters. 

Last week's Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Convention put a focus on two issues critical to the global side of the sector: the state of recycling in China and efforts to enhance shipping protocols.

E-scrap company eGreen IT Solutions lost its e-Stewards certification after a Basel Action Network investigation tracked two printers overseas to the Philippines and Malaysia. 

TDM, a Mexican company that has recycled millions of pounds of CRTs from the U.S., closed its CRT recycling business this year.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of E-Scrap News. Subscribe today for access to all print content.   [dropcap]For[/dropcap] years, the electronics recycling industry has had a delicate relationship with the realities of exporting recovered material to international markets. On one h

The e-Stewards certification program has blacklisted Tech-Resale for at least two years, concluding that the electronics reseller violated several of the standard's requirements.