EPA Launches E-cycling Fraud Investigation
According to the Post-Gazette, the U.S. EPA has filed a complaint, opening an investigation against EarthEcycle LLC, an Oklahoma electronics recycling company. The company partnered with local charitable organizations in a free electronics recycling program.
The EPA announced a formal investigation after the Basel Action Network released a report citing that the company collects the electronics and disposes of the in a hazardous manner.
Donated electronic equipment, collected by EarthEcycle, was sent to this warehouse for sorting. Photo: Post-gazette.com
“EPA takes proper and safe management of electronic waste seriously, which is why we have opened an investigation of EarthECycle for violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act,” says Agency Spokesman Dave Ryan.
The order includes seven charges against EarthEcycle, owned by Jeff Nixon, 44. The problem with e-waste is that much of the recycling is currently done overseas in developing nations, where it is difficult to ensure the safety of the workers tasked with handling these materials. The EPA says it tracked EarthEcycle containers to Hong Kong and then to South Africa.
Some states, such as Maine, Maryland and Washington, have passed laws to mandate proper disposal of e-waste, but so far there is no national standard. Increasingly, though, businesses themselves are taking responsibility for their products’ life cycles.
The New York Times recently reported that “as much as 50 million tons of electronic waste is generated worldwide annually.”
The best solution may be a combination of efforts, including decreasing and eliminating hazardous materials in electronics, promoting reuse of older electronics and raising awareness of safe recycling, especially in those nations handling the bulk of the world’s waste.
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Trey Granger
posted on June 16th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Do you think these charities are asking questions about where the electronics end up? In a time when donations may be tough to come by, it might be appealing to get money from an e-cycler for doing very little in return. I wonder if these organizations are being held accountable as well.
Joseph
posted on June 17th, 2009 at 10:47 am
You know, some people takes their computers out to the curb on the Community Annual Spring Cleanup. Peopel seem to take advantage of that in my community & I wish people would care more about their products
Jeffrey L Nixon
posted on June 22nd, 2009 at 5:10 pm
In the early times take overs were hostile, using weapons. Later the opposing parties used to simply call you a communist to discredit an organization. Today corporate espionage, discrediting the head of the company and finding any dirt (which is possible with the cleanest of us) are tools used in conjunction with the press to get ahead of the game.
Since the ewaste industry is relatively new and so very controversial along with the regulations being so low, it is easy to impress upon people the negative making it hard to do good and moral business.
We are not giving up, if anything we are more fired up to show people and corporations the value of the waste they are paying companies like ELoop, in our professiona opinion, to take away. Also, we were told by ELoop ewaste gatheres that ELoop sold the ewaste they collected to a company in Canada who may have sold it to Hong Kong until they made enough capitol to purchase the new warehouse.
Lastly, why would a BAN Esteward need to file the EPA paperwork to sell CRT overseas if they didn’t actually sell overseas? Some info for an investigative reporter. I stand firm on the innocence of our company and our policy to create jobs for our unemployed American here in the U.S. and finding value bringing capitol here to the U.S. instead of charging outrageous fees to dispose of American property that has value. These companies are outright lying and using keywords like toxic to label items that have world trade value to responsible factories and users all over the world.
The EPA will find favor in our dealings and we will retaliate with legal action against those who have intentionally tried to damage our reputation and our business.
Jeff
Ed
posted on July 15th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I have to agree with Jeffrey.
What is the difference between a 50′s reporter who wrote “… was seen associating with a known communist” and “… tracked … containers to Hong Kong and then to South Africa”? Being friends with someone does not mean you share their point of view and shipping old technology overseas does not mean you are intending to dump it.
The majority of old PCs sent to developing countries are put to good use. The offer poor and uneducated peoples the opportunity to connect with us and contribute to the human adventure. Yes, some old tech gets dumped and that needs to be fixed ASAP but don’t cut off one of the best recycling programs in the worled because some abuse it.
To convict EarthEcycle it will have to be shown that the equipment is actually being dumped and not resold and that the company knowingly participated in the dumping.
If the NY Times spent has spent as much ink on the genocide in Rwanda as it is doing on this issue a million people might still be alive.
Alex
posted on June 18th, 2010 at 7:52 pm
There is a guy in Ghana who has been investigating and documenting ewaste shipments and dumping in Ghana why dont you guys contact him incase you need some evidence about ewaste shipments from the US and dumping in Ghana, he has been helping my class put together a presentation on ewaste dumping you can reach him on. mikeanane@yahoo.com