Amazon, Best Buy and the free rider problem
“This means, to put it bluntly, that Best Buy is collecting trash generated by Amazon, Walmart and other competitors.”
What’s Going On with Electronic Waste?
“Standards and testing on materials should be done before these products hit the market,” said Kyle. “The government should not be relying on the people working for the recyclers and waste management to act as their canary in the mine shaft.”
Is There a Business Case for Product Take-Back?
May 5, 2015, Triple Pundit: “A lot of the new consumer electronics like tablets and smartphones are made in such a way that they are not economically recyclable. It costs more to take them apart to remove the battery than you can earn in commodities from recycling.”
Is the Obama administration lowering the bar on green electronics?
The Guardian Sustainable Business: “A new government-issued executive order has weakened a federal ratings system aimed at greening America’s electronics industry, environmentalists say. Is the US moving backward on green purchasing?”
US government ‘abandoning’ green electronics rating system
A new presidential Executive Order on US federal sustainability efforts could mean that a tool that allows purchasers to identify electronics products that meet standards on hazardous substances is abandoned by the federal government, two NGOs claim.
Commentary: E-Waste Export Policy Key to Stopping Electronics Counterfeits and Protecting Military Readiness
As the Armed Services Committee report found, “much of the material used to make counterfeit electronic parts is electronic waste, or e-waste, shipped from the United States and the rest of the world to China.”
Senate Bill Creates U.S. Jobs and Stops Toxic E-Waste Tide
March 6, 2014: U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced S. 2090, the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (RERA) of 2014 to stop sham U.S. “recyclers” from sending toxic electronic waste to developing countries and to promote recycling jobs at home.
Stop flunking e-waste: 6 steps to boost electronics recycling
Guardian Sustainable Business: “When it comes to e-waste recycling, most electronics retailers aren’t just struggling; they’re downright failing. At least according to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which took the industry to task in a recent report.”
Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, to ban overseas dumping of US ewaste, introduced in Congress
The news comes just after one Colorado firm was ordered to pay over $4 million in fines, with two executives sent to prison, for a scheme to illegally dispose of and export electronic waste to China and other foreign countries.
Electronics Retailers Receive Fs on Recycling Report Card
July 18 2013. Environmental Leader: “…more than half of the 16 retailers flunked, including retail giants such as Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Sam’s Club and Sears.”
