regulation/oversight

Officials in Malaysia and Thailand seized containers with hundreds of tons of e-scrap illegally imported from the United States earlier this month after tips from the U.S. nonprofit Basel Action Network.

As part of a broader initiative to increase efficiency, the U.S. secretary of defense has called for the Army to include the right to repair products in its procurement contracts, adding support to previous congressional efforts. 

A federal bill that would restrict U.S. exports of e-scrap has re-emerged, this time as HB 2998.

A right-to-repair electronics bill and a bill that would again delay the state's extended producer responsibility program for solar panels are both sitting on the Washington governor's desk after passing the state legislature earlier this month.

Country-specific reciprocal tariffs have been pushed out until July, but a universal base rate tariff rolled out last week, which covers all countries, and earlier metals tariffs remain in effect. Meanwhile, an all-out trade war between the U.S. and China is intensifying.

This year has been a busy one for policy concerning e-scrap and electronics, with several dozen bills filed in states across the country. 

ITAD and cathode ray tube device processor Universal Recycling Technologies announced that its e-Stewards certification will be suspended for 30 days, following an OSHA fine over worker exposure to lead and cadmium. 

Details are scarce on U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin's plans to cut his agency's spending by 65% or more, but some of its 15,000 full-time-equivalent positions and grants to recycling programs across the country could be on the chopping block. 

A recent criminal case involving device theft during federal government asset disposition jobs is shining new light on 2024 audits highlighting IT asset management weaknesses at the FBI, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others.

There are few indications how incoming U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin might shift the agency's solid waste and recycling work, but he won the support of the Recycled Materials Association and other stakeholders who say he likely brings an understanding of local solid waste management challenges.