Export Reform Group Compliments, Critiques California E-Waste Plan

SB20 reduces exports of "bad" equipment, but creates shortages of good equipment. California's expensive CRT "cancellation" clause at issue with digital divide and re-use group WR3A.

Middlebury, VT (PRWEB) June 16, 2006 -- California’s new E-Waste System has done a terrific job at eliminating “junk” e-waste exports from shipments to Asia. Unfortunately, the system also destroys millions of perfectly working units, at a cost to the environment.

According to the World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association (WR3A), California’s SB20 law has eliminated any incentive to send junk cathode ray tubes (CRTs) as “toxics along for the ride”. The abuse of monitor reuse and repair markets in Asia was the main topic of a 2005 trip to Asia by WR3A, and of a training session by WR3A given at the IEEE Summit in San Francisco in May.

California doesn't abuse reuse markets, because California law leaves nothing to reuse. Good monitors, under 5 years old, are being smashed for subsidies created by California’s SB20.

WR3A has proposed a more efficient system, allowing reuse without abusing the export market. Robin Ingenthron, WR3A president, gave comments to the California Integrated Waste Management Board in May, requesting that SB20 processors be allowed to meet the WR3A’s purchase orders for good, working CRT tubes.

WR3A complimented SB20 for creating a “top shelf” niche of regulated e-waste companies, who have no excuse to send junk CRTs mixed in with legitimate reuse items. Unfortunately, the SB20 regulations cause good CRTs to be ruined before going back to the monitor factory.

The “cancellation” clause in SB20 costs Californians millions of dollars. The legitimate purpose of “cancellation” is to make sure the same monitor will not be redeemed twice in state for deposit.

WR3A presented state officials with a plan to allow used tubes to be remade into new monitors, through a manufacturer take-back program. There is no risk of over-redemption, since the monitors are rebuilt at the same factories as new monitors. The program requires that one key component of the CRT – the vacuum seal – be kept intact.

Unfortunately, CIWMB regulations specifically require California processors to break that vacuum seal, as opposed to testing the CRT to manufacturer specifications, or requiring that circuit board be removed, as required by environmental groups (BAN and SVTC).

If the California recycler does not spoil the CRT, they must refund collector costs out of pocket. Easier to break the seal, and bill the state. WR3A estimates each broken seal costs California recyclers $10. This represents a loss of $1M per month.

Another bad outcome arises from market corrections to the “supply vacuum”. To meet their requirements (estimated at 80,000 used CRTs per month), the Asian factories must buy from less reputable “recyclers”. Worse yet, the monitor makers may mine Asian forests for more lead.

“CA regulations take good monitors and break them prior to export,” says Ingenthron. “It increases mining, tilts the market to 'bad' exporters, and costs California millions.” Fair and open trade is better policy, he says.

Meeting legitimate demand with fair trade of inspected product is the best way to drive lowball exporters out of business, WR3A maintains. California is in a position to do that, by re-interpreting its cancellation subsidy.

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