The dark side of electronic waste recycling
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The dark side of electronic waste recycling
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Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#2Not defending Total Reclaim's misrepresentation BUT.... the market for many recyclable commodities is insufficient to justify processing expense in the US. Why? Two reasons. First, there's little manufacturing capacity remaining in North America to utilize many (not all) recyclable commodities. Second, subsidies and currency manipulation continue to dump virgin commodities and new products into the US. This is not a consumer demand problem. It is not a US regulatory problem. It's no longer the fault of US product designers. The decisions that drive this environmental and safety disaster are made in Shenzen and Beijing, period. The US cannot legislate how China manufactures its products, nor how they are recycled in China. US consumers and recyclers now have nowhere else to go for supply or end-of-life solutions. Those of us who have warned about this dystopian reality were laughed at, gaslighted and ignored for the past 20 years. It's going to get worse. Electronic waste today. Civil rights tomorrow. Don't believe me? Here's a couple youtube videos featuring real experts on the issue. The future is bleak.
Hudson Institute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8UUKYf-7Ws Chris Balding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1h9ciK7Yfk
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#3Not defending Total Reclaim's misrepresentation BUT.... the market for many recyclable commodities is insufficient to justify processing expense in the US. Why? Two reasons. First, there's little manufacturing capacity remaining in North America to utilize many (not all) recyclable commodities. Second, subsidies and currency manipulation continue to dump virgin commodities and new products into the US. This is not a…
There's no for-profit motive to justify recycling of much, that's true. However, recycling can still work well if there's money built in to the price of items for recycling what they're made of.
In other words, a surcharge built into the cost of e.g. a flatscreen monitor for recycling is held in escrow during the device's lifetime. When it's end of life, the company that recycles it can claim that charge as part of its fee for ensuring the materials are not improperly disposed of.
This sort of system would also have the benefit of encouraging purchase of more recyclable items by making the less recyclable ones more expensive.
Of course, there are a thousand ways this system could be subverted... and the real problem in the US is a corrupt government that won't create laws to stop export of e-waste.
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#4Not defending Total Reclaim's misrepresentation BUT.... the market for many recyclable commodities is insufficient to justify processing expense in the US. Why? Two reasons. First, there's little manufacturing capacity remaining in North America to utilize many (not all) recyclable commodities. Second, subsidies and currency manipulation continue to dump virgin commodities and new products into the US. This is not a…
There's no for-profit motive to justify recycling of much, that's true. However, recycling can still work well if there's money built in to the price of items for recycling what they're made of. In other words, a surcharge built into the cost of e.g. a flatscreen monitor for recycling is held in escrow during the device's lifetime. When it's end of life, the company that recycles it can claim that charge as part of i…
There is no way the CCP is going to legislate that into reality. There is no way the US Congress is going to further handicap American industry with what then amounts to another subsidy to China. It's not a solution. Nor is barring e-waste exports a solution. That material will end up in landfill. Terrible idea.
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#5For a gritty SF version of Guiyu e-waste recycling, check out Waste Tide[1], plot is a little convoluted, but it's certainly got lots of atmosphere.
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#6Not defending Total Reclaim's misrepresentation BUT.... the market for many recyclable commodities is insufficient to justify processing expense in the US. Why? Two reasons. First, there's little manufacturing capacity remaining in North America to utilize many (not all) recyclable commodities. Second, subsidies and currency manipulation continue to dump virgin commodities and new products into the US. This is not a…
There's no for-profit motive to justify recycling of much, that's true. However, recycling can still work well if there's money built in to the price of items for recycling what they're made of. In other words, a surcharge built into the cost of e.g. a flatscreen monitor for recycling is held in escrow during the device's lifetime. When it's end of life, the company that recycles it can claim that charge as part of i…
This is exactly it. There's no reason we need to be held hostage to China's lack of environmental concern.
When a device is imported from China or manufactured domestically, a fee is tacked on that includes the price of recycling processing. Congress just has to pass a law, period.
Then recycling companies demonstrate responsible recycling and recover the fees. Fees are set per-product in order to ensure they are ultimately profitable.
Resulting pure compounds, proven to not require further recycling processing bad for the environment, can then be re-exported to China for use in manufacturing at market rates.
But as you say, it depends on Congress and on actual regulation and inspections/audits with teeth and meaningful penalties. To actually work, auditable photographic/video evidence of the entire workflow accounting for every single shipment would be a first step. But Congress depends on voters, so it's really up to us to force politicians to campaign on it.
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#7Not defending Total Reclaim's misrepresentation BUT.... the market for many recyclable commodities is insufficient to justify processing expense in the US. Why? Two reasons. First, there's little manufacturing capacity remaining in North America to utilize many (not all) recyclable commodities. Second, subsidies and currency manipulation continue to dump virgin commodities and new products into the US. This is not a…
HAHA!! "We can only place an order with you if you can do it at this price." Let's not kid ourselves here. We here in the West are every bit as guilty.
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's no for-profit motive to justify recycling of much, that's true. However, recycling can still work well if there's money built in to the price of items for recycling what they're made of. In other words, a surcharge built into the cost of e.g. a flatscreen monitor for recycling is held in escrow during the device's lifetime. When it's end of life, the company that recycles it can claim that charge as part of i…
There is no way the CCP is going to legislate that into reality. There is no way the US Congress is going to further handicap American industry with what then amounts to another subsidy to China. It's not a solution. Nor is barring e-waste exports a solution. That material will end up in landfill. Terrible idea.
What is a solution then?
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#9Can someone summarize what they did? Just when I think the article is going to tell me - it breaks into the life story of some guy from Seattle.
Re: The dark side of electronic waste recycling
#10Not defending Total Reclaim's misrepresentation BUT.... the market for many recyclable commodities is insufficient to justify processing expense in the US. Why? Two reasons. First, there's little manufacturing capacity remaining in North America to utilize many (not all) recyclable commodities. Second, subsidies and currency manipulation continue to dump virgin commodities and new products into the US. This is not a…
There's no for-profit motive to justify recycling of much, that's true. However, recycling can still work well if there's money built in to the price of items for recycling what they're made of. In other words, a surcharge built into the cost of e.g. a flatscreen monitor for recycling is held in escrow during the device's lifetime. When it's end of life, the company that recycles it can claim that charge as part of i…
California has electronic waste recycling fees at time of purchase for televisions, monitors, laptops, and tablets. The questions is given that we are paying this fee, are they properly recycling those devices?