Why RERA/SEERA is BAD Export Policy - baby projects thrown out with the bathwater

Much time away from the blog this spring... The RERA/SEERA (Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, rebranded as the Secure E-Waste Export and Recycling Act) made it's sneaky appearance in the House "America Competes Act" in February 2022. I've been writing letters, and editorials against Section 30612.

That's scary. Under the Texas (always Texas, since Green Thompson) amendment, and now 

S.1260 - United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021.

But rather than blog about it again, I want to list the cool projects Good Point is working on that might be ruined by the anti-export law.

1. Reopen refurbishing factory in North Africa.

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2. Duplicate our Flat Screen TV parts reuse program in Africa.

3. Prepare for a massive reuse program for upgraded solar panels as they are replaced - like CRT monitors and flip phones - with higher efficiency panels.  Here is a demonstration of a 42 year old panel being used to charge a phone, run a radio, and power a desklamp.

4. Fair Trade Recycling Offsets - projects funded by the reuse sale, for litter collection and proper management of e-waste that eventually is created in African cities (after decades of repair and reuse)

5. Vintage Electronics Collections in Africa - Our African Partners are now looking for antique electronics ("vintage"), like this CRT monitor (similar to one that we sold for hundreds of dollars).

If ONLY I had saved more of those, two decades ago (when I took photos of Egyptian CRT monitor repair operations, shown below).

6. The off-grid solar reuse project

Think if the anti export law had passed 40 years ago. Would Africa have had 300 TV stations by 1979 (Mass Communications in Africa, Dr. Graham Mytton, 1983)? Would the continent have had the critical mass of users that now use approximately 170,000 cell phone towers (leapfrogging land lines)?

We have other very cool projects in the works (here is a video showing how we have a model "off grid" Africa reuse model solar home here in Vermont - not a public video as we didn't have time for all the health and safety disclaimers - don't try this at home).

What I do for a living is defend the poor when they are denied the Right To Reuse and Right To Repair. Planned Obsolescence campaigns are constantly infringing and attacking, and the RERA SEERA Competes Act Section 30612 is designed to put Dell in control of overseas reuse.

Here's why Dell offers OEMs a carve out to prevent Good Point from doing what DELL is investing in. You may remember, way back in the early days of the Good Point Ideas Blog, Dell was suing Tiger Direct for having a refurbishing factory that resold repaired Dell Optiplex computers (after the "capacitor plague"). Now Dell's taking a page from HP, Lexmark and Brother, who used to fight ink and toner cartridge refurbishing, but now have their own factories in East Asia refilling cartridges in competition.

This article ran the same day, in the same online magazine, as my Op-Ed against the Texas Section 30612 America COMPETES Act version of RERA/SEERA... a new take on the RERA/SEERA which doesn't ban export of repairable electronics if it's done by a brand owner.

OEM expands its asset recovery services around the globe

https://resource-recycling.com/e-scrap/2022/04/07/oem-expands-its-asset-recovery-services-around-the-globe/