Coalition For American Electronics Recycling (CAER) writes:
CAER is full of good companies. I'm not attacking those companies, I'm defending my friends overseas from their defamatory statements. Just want to explain why these statements, on their website, are mistaken.
Since new e-waste blogger JHop has thrown his hat in the ring (comment on CAER report blog from January), we now have dialog.
The two paragraphs above are full of misinformation. Perhaps, with the qualifier, "We believe", they can say whatever they want. But no one in our business can really believe this. No E-Waste Broker Fairy is transporting 80% of USA's used electronics in "stack and pack through brokers".
Impossible. Here's why:
What is the #1 component of E-Waste collected in USA Programs?
TVs. Big CRT TVs.
Show me a "stack and pack" operation exporting a significant number of TVs. There is NO WAY that you can achieve 80% of USA E-waste "stack and pack" without the massive deportation of used televsions. EPA says we are generating 50,000 used TVs per day. That's about 100 containerloads per day... 80% is 80 sea containerloads per day, of JUST TVs.
No one at recycle.net, Alibaba.com, Exporters.com.sg, etc. is "packing or stacking" a significant number of USA's TVs. I know of 2-3 used television buyers, but they are not buying 80% of USA e-waste, and they are pretty small operations and very particular of the TVs they buy. The ones in Africa generally want very small TVs only (like the ones in Gentleman Jim's photo of Joseph Benson's containers), or very nice (e.g. hotel-takeout) TVs like the ones shrinkwrapped in the Greenpeace video. AND NOW THEY CAN BUY THOSE USED CRT TVs FROM ASIA! The USA isn't even a major export player anymore.
"We believe that currently about 80% of electronics claimed to be recycled in the US are really just “packed and stacked” into shipping containers and exported. Aggregators of used electronics work through brokers to ship equipment overseas and get paid pennies per pound for this mixed assortment of electronics. We see solicitations from these brokers all the time.
"If this bill [HR2284] passes, we don’t expect it will completely shut off improper exports of used electronics, but we contend it will flip the equation so that 80% of electronics are processed in the US. Based on our experience, we create at least 7 jobs in refurbishment, demanufacturing or material processing for every job involved in packing and stacking electronics for export. This would lead to tremendous growth in the American electronics recycling industry through existing and new businesses.
CAER is full of good companies. I'm not attacking those companies, I'm defending my friends overseas from their defamatory statements. Just want to explain why these statements, on their website, are mistaken.
Since new e-waste blogger JHop has thrown his hat in the ring (comment on CAER report blog from January), we now have dialog.
The two paragraphs above are full of misinformation. Perhaps, with the qualifier, "We believe", they can say whatever they want. But no one in our business can really believe this. No E-Waste Broker Fairy is transporting 80% of USA's used electronics in "stack and pack through brokers".
Impossible. Here's why:
TVs. Big CRT TVs.
Show me a "stack and pack" operation exporting a significant number of TVs. There is NO WAY that you can achieve 80% of USA E-waste "stack and pack" without the massive deportation of used televsions. EPA says we are generating 50,000 used TVs per day. That's about 100 containerloads per day... 80% is 80 sea containerloads per day, of JUST TVs.
No one at recycle.net, Alibaba.com, Exporters.com.sg, etc. is "packing or stacking" a significant number of USA's TVs. I know of 2-3 used television buyers, but they are not buying 80% of USA e-waste, and they are pretty small operations and very particular of the TVs they buy. The ones in Africa generally want very small TVs only (like the ones in Gentleman Jim's photo of Joseph Benson's containers), or very nice (e.g. hotel-takeout) TVs like the ones shrinkwrapped in the Greenpeace video. AND NOW THEY CAN BUY THOSE USED CRT TVs FROM ASIA! The USA isn't even a major export player anymore.
