During the broadcast of 60 Minutes Sunday night, there was a story titled "Following the Trail of Toxic E-Waste." While this story exposed areas of the electronics waste industry that are disparaging, it is a story that needs to be shared and explained.
The 60 Minutes story keyed in on the illegal shipment of cathode ray tubes (CRT) – the glass found in standard television sets – to third-world countries. In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the CRT Rule. The rule requires that recyclers notify EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. when they plan to export used and broken CRTs. EPA will then notify the receiving country of the shipment. However, if the CRTs are intact, instead of broken, and destined for reuse, the recycler must send a one-time notification to EPA before exportation. In this case, there is no requirement to notify the receiving country. Many in our industry are not following the CRT Rule and shipping this toxic glass without EPA approval.
It is important to point out that E-Structors has gone to great lengths to differentiate itself from companies like those featured in the broadcast. E-Structors is not an electronics waste broker or clearing house – we utilize state-of-the-art equipment to safely and securely destroy and recycle end-of-life electronic equipment, computers and documents. Every piece of electronic equipment that enters the E-Structors process is broken down to a commodity level. Only raw materials leave our facility. E-Structors bundles these materials and ships to companies that have been thoroughly researched to specialize in processing raw materials for reuse. No company affiliated with E-Structors has been known to ship unprocessed electronics to under-developed or third-world countries.
When we founded E-Structors in 2003, we understood the electronics disposal issue would reach the volumes it has today and wanted to have a way of properly recycling glass and other materials. Our first step to achieve this was to involve the EPA. We invited senior environmental scientists with the EPA who oversee the electronics industry into our facility to discuss CRT guidelines and how to be fully compliant with EPA standards. The result of this initial ground-work is a relationship with the EPA that provides constant guidance and collaboration on best-practices for processing CRTs. E-Structors is involved in a number of EPA-approved, glass-to-glass processing programs and is one of 40 recyclers in the country who is able to ship glass commodities to developed countries outside the U.S. for recycling.
While some companies in the electronics recycling industry are shown to be doing inappropriate acts,
E-Structors remains committed to working with regulating agencies to ensure all recycling systems and procedures are followed and maintained.
For more information on how to properly dispose of electronics waste, please call 1-877-492-4968.