Many of us have old phones lying in our drawers or old computers in our closet. All of us know that we should recycle these, right? But this Earth Day, be forewarned! Not all electronics recyclers are what you think. According to a recent study entitled Scam Recycling using GPS trackers conducted by the Basel Action Network (BAN), many so-called electronics recyclers don't actually recycle your electronics -- but simply ship it off to developing countries. There it is likely to be processed by poorly protected workers engaged in smashing and burning your old equipment in highly polluting "backyard" operations.
Read MoreDispose e-waste with care: Hong Kong to start ‘producer pays’ scheme for 70,000 tonnes generated in city annually→
/Author: Ernest Kao
The rules for disposing electrical and electronic appliances in Hong Kong will get stricter as a “producer pays” scheme takes effect in August to tackle the 70,000 tonnes of e-waste generated locally per year, officials said on Thursday.
Photo: Edward Wong
In My Opinion: Addressing Reactions To E-Scrap Tracking→
/Author: Jim Puckett
E-Scrap News has now published responses from five of the six companies named in Basel Action Network's latest export report.
To be clear, in our first GPS tracking report, "Scam Recycling," we endeavored to distribute our trackers statistically in accordance with the existent proportion of R2, e-Stewards, and uncertified companies so we could assess the relative percentage of companies found within export chains within each category.
Read MoreWatchdog Group's GPS Trackers Find "Certified Fake Recyclers" in Texas, Georgia and Florida Sending e-Waste to Asia→
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Following their 2016 exposé entitled "Scam Recycling" which employed 205 GPS tracking devices placed inside electronic waste to find out what happens to it, the Basel Action Network (BAN) has released the latest findings using GPS tracking in a short 18-page report. Their most recent data reveals 6 more instances of exports to developing countries involving 6 new companies, as well as the City of Houston. Most of these companies make public claims on their websites of never allowing the electronics they process to be exported to developing countries. Further, four of the companies are Certified to R2 which stands for Responsible Recycling.
Read MoreIn My Opinion: Real data to solve a real problem→
/Author: Jim Puckett
In his Sept. 14 op-ed piece, Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI) Executive Director John Lingelbach expresses the belief that Basel Action Network’s (BAN) publishing of export tracking data, including the names of companies that handled each tracker in its chain of export, is irresponsible without extensive and costly investigations completed prior to release of data.
Beck, Scott. “In My Opinion: Real Data to Solve a Real Problem.” E-Scrap, E-Scrap News, 5 Oct. 2017, resource-recycling.com/e-scrap/2017/10/05/opinion-real-data-solve-real-problem/.
Read MoreNew Program to Provide Low-Cost, Ethically Refurbished Computers to Digitally Disadvantaged Students and Families→
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Orlando, Florida; Seattle, Washington. September 19, 2017. The electronics recycling and refurbishment certification program known as e-Stewards® today announced a new "digital equity" program designed to channel computer equipment from large corporations and institutions to needy individuals and communities across North America.
Read MoreWatchdog Group's GPS Trackers Find More Fake Electronics Recyclers Sending e-Waste to Asia→
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Following their exposé last year entitled "Scam Recycling" employing 205 GPS tracking devices placed inside electronic waste to find out what happens to it, the Basel Action Network (BAN) has released new findings in a short 15 page report. Their most recent data reveals 16 more instances of exports to developing countries involving 7 companies, most of which make public claims of never allowing the electronics they process to be exported.
Read MoreHazardous materials seized in largest global operation against illegal waste→
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SINGAPORE – More than 1.5 million tonnes of illegal waste were discovered worldwide during a global operation coordinated by INTERPOL targeting the illegal shipment and disposal of waste.
Read MoreHong Kong Recyclers calling for Delay in Meeting New Environmental Requirements must be told an emphatic NO!→
/The Basel Action Network (BAN), the organization that documented massive smuggling and recycling fraud in New Territories last year must strongly agree with Friends of the Earth, Hong Kong in their opinion that the New Territories electronics junk yard operators must not be allowed any special delays in meeting the new e-waste recycling legislation.
Read MoreNotorious ’60 Minutes’ e-scrap executives re-sentenced→
/Author: Colin Staub
The e-scrap export criminal case involving Colorado’s Executive Recycling has seen recent developments after being tied up in appeals for the past four years.
* http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/16/denver-scammer-imprisoned/
Read MoreHewlett Packard Answers the Call for e-Trash Transparency→
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Environmental groups praised the Hewlett Packard Company today for its recent announcement that they will henceforth reveal to the public where all of their electronic waste goes.
HP now joins Samsung and LG in being fully transparent in North America about their recycling destinations. However, most IT equipment manufacturers, including Apple, Inc., refuse to tell the public where their toxic e-waste, once collected from the public, will end up.
Read MoreWatchdog Calls for Fixing Washington State's Leaky e-Waste Law to Stop Illegal Exports→
/The Basel Action Network (BAN), the Seattle based environmental watchdog organization that last year used GPS tracking devices and caught out several official Washington State electronic waste processors or collectors illegally exporting toxic e-waste to substandard operations in China, is now calling for reforms in Olympia.
The Green Hat→
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Seattle, Planet Earth. January 25. Seattle based environmental justice organization, Basel Action Network (BAN), has launched a poignant reminder that making "America Great Again" is not possible without a clean and green environment. This reminder comes in the form of "The Green Hat"-- a new helmet of resistance in defense of the environment under the marching orders: "Make the Environment Great Again".
Read MoreWhere do your electronics go to die? This Seattle man knows — and he’s doing something about it→
/Author: Lisa Stiffler
There are few tech-related gigs where getting pelted with rocks is an expected workplace hazard. Seattle’s Jim Puckett holds one of those jobs.
Read MoreLooks are deceiving in Chinese town that was US e-waste dumping site→
/Author: Allison Griner, Global Reporting Centre
Over more than a decade, Lai Yun got to know the Chinese town of Guiyu through his work as an environmental activist. He breathed its acrid air, squinted through its soupy smog and marveled at its jet-black river.
Read MoreProposed Waste Regulation Violates Chile's Toxic Waste Trade Treaty Obligations→
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The global environmental toxic trade watchdog organization Basel Action Network, together with two Chilean NGOs -- FIMA and the Terram Foundation urged the government of Chile today to fulfill its international commitments to end the transboundary trafficking in hazardous wastes.
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Chicago Electronics Recycler Intercon Solutions Arrested for Fraud→
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More than five years since first being exposed by the environmental watchdog organization, Basel Action Network (BAN), Intercon Solutions CEO Brian Brundage was arrested and indicted yesterday for 4 counts of tax evasion and 6 counts of fraud. The government is seeking forfeiture of 10 million dollars and each count of income tax evasion is punishable by up to five years in prison. The wire fraud and mail fraud counts each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Read MoreChemical waste allegedly found stored in nine Hong Kong recycling sites without approval→
/Author: Nikki Sun
A joint departmental operation found a large quantity of chemical waste had been allegedly collected and stored in nine recycling sites in the New Territories without approval, with Hong Kong’s environmental protection watchdog vowing to launch prosecutions against the relevant parties.
Read MoreSecret Tracking Project Finds that Your Old Electronic Waste Gets Exported to Developing Countries→
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Utilizing high-tech methods to track high-tech wastes, the environmental watchdog, Basel Action Network (BAN) as part of their e-Trash Transparency Project, funded by the Body Shop Foundation, planted GPS trackers into 205 old printers and monitors and then delivered them to charities and recyclers. The new report, entitled Scam Recycling: e-Dumping on Asia by US Recyclers, revealed that of those that were handed over to American electronics recyclers, 40 percent did not get recycled in the US as expected by customers, but were instead exported to highly-polluting and unsafe operations in developing countries -- mostly in Asia.
Read MoreElectronics recycler fined $444,000 for illegally disposing of dangerous waste overseas→
/The Washington Department of Ecology has fined Seattle-based electronics recycler Total Reclaim Inc. $444,000 for illegally disposing of flat-screen televisions and monitors with fluorescent tubes containing toxic mercury. The company shipped the flat screens to Hong Kong, where they were broken apart in the open by unprotected workers.
Read More