Ewaste Crisis is All Over Now

In today's NY Times and in several other sources it has been reported that China will allow its currency to rise.

In the long run, it's not a sure bet that the market will trust a central authoritarian government to manage its currency, and China's currency valuation will always reflect a certain degree of Orwellian distrust in the free market.  But is is commonly believed that the authoritarian regime has been pushing the currency down, and even if it is not a free and fair market, to have a force stop pushing down means you can expect something to rise.

If the Chinese yuan or RMB rises 10%, metal and plastic commodities will rebound.

Yonder stands your orphan with his gun.

Foxconn in Shenzhen, the Chinese factory with 279,000 employees which makes all the Ipods and Iphones and Androids and is contract manufacturer for most "brand names" has risen to face criticism - most recently, increasing employee pay to squelch reactions to a rash of suicides by employees.  When the currency revaluation causes $1 worth of copper (in RMB) to cost $0.75, China will have more money to put into making their recycling factories spic-and-span.

Does anyone remember USA auto union criticism of Japanese auto plants in the 1970s?

Take what you have gathered from coincidence.

Will anyone remember USA recycling factory criticism of Shenzhen electronics scrap processes given 2020 vision?

The empty handed painter on your streets is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets.

It's over.  The Chinese who tried to buy Noranda will buy ERI (if they haven't already, I don't know the Korean owners money trail) and other E-stewards.  BAN will create a bunch of All-Star recyclers and the Chinese will buy them.

The carpet too is folding over you.

It's over.  It's all over now, baby red white and blue.



On the plus side, who cares.  Nationalism is dying.  The Hong Kong businesspeople I know have homes in Toronto and Vancouver.  My kids will have more allegiance to their dot com address than to their passports.  Just like favorite players getting traded from Red Sox to Yankees, and the players remain the same, we will see the end of nationalistic recycling certifications in our lifetimes.