Date: October 15, 2011
Source: News Room
Two recycling industry groups have taken issue with a recent study of study of electronics recycling practices in the US in their widening debate about the export of hazardous materials. Although, both sides -- the environmental group Basel Action Network (BAN) and the trade association Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), agree that the survey offers little insight on export volumes or trends. Both organizations are tied to different revenue-generating certification programs for e-cyclers and oppose each other on the issue of exports. The study, conducted by independent research group International Data Corp. (IDC) of Framingham, MA, indicates that 78.66 percent of the companies surveyed said their output was traded, sold or transferred within the US. Eric Harris, counsel and director of government and international affairs of ISRI drew upon this finding as indicative that electronics are recycled in within the US and not "dumped" overseas. However, Jim Puckett, executivedirector of BAN, indicated that the statistic is meaningless for two reasons. One, respondents cannot be relied upon to report shameful or illegal activity, particularly e-waste exports, in a voluntary survey. Two, there is no evidence about whether the US was the final destination of the traded or transferred waste. It could still be exported by a third party company or broker.
In July both groups clashed over the Obama administration's desire to ratify an international agreement to control imports and exports of hazardous wastes. A national strategy developed by an interagency task force -- comprising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the General Services Administrator (GSA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality -- said it would support ratification of the Basel Convention on the control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal but it made no mention of a later Basel Ban Amendment that would prohibit exports of hazardous waste. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) supports the interagency approach and feels that the Basel Ban Amendment is "a horrible idea," because it has not been adopted by enough countries and would interfere with the market for valuable recycled commodities. Moreover, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) guides the proper handling of wastes. But Jim Puckett, executive director of the Basel Action Network, said it was "shameful" that the administration would support the export of toxic wastes to developing countries from developed countries. He said RCRA would not be sufficient in that it exempts almost all forms of hazardous waste that are destined for recycling.
See also: "Industry Groups Clash Over E-Waste Strategy," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20110726G.htm).
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