E-Waste Exposed: GAO Report on Lax EPA Enforcement
GAO E-Waste Report
"Electronic Waste: EPA Needs to Better Control Harmful U.S. Exports through Stronger Enforcement and More Comprehensive Regulation" criticizes the EPA for rarely enforcing the only existing e-waste regulation, which governs cathode-ray tube monitors and televisions, instead permitting companies to outsource their electronics disposal to unregulated third parties, many of which ship e-waste to nations where products are systematically dismantled or destroyed, in some cases by children, using primitive processes that include burning parts in open fire pits and soaking circuit boards in acid to extract precious metals.
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After years of turning a blind eye to e-waste exports, a Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) report ripped the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for lax enforcement of e-waste disposal regulations. The 63-page report sparked extensive media coverage and debate over the need for stronger e-waste recycling standards.
Redemtech President Robert Houghton was invited to participate in a news conference in which U.S. congressional representatives praised the report – and criticized the EPA for allowing electronics “recyclers” to export used electronic devices containing toxic substances to developing nations where little regulation or enforcement exists to protect people and the environment. Said U.S. Rep. Gene Green of Texas of the EPA’s method of enforcing e-waste regulations in the U.S: it is akin to “putting up a speed limit sign, but no one's writing any tickets.”
In his remarks at the news conference, Houghton said many businesses that outsource e-waste disposal may not be aware that their electronics are being mismanaged by the outsourcers they choose. As a result of the lack of EPA enforcement, “recyclers that cheat on their contractual obligations know that they're very unlikely to be caught," Houghton said, adding that as a result only about 5 percent refuse to export items containing toxic substances.
Ted Smith, chairman of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which hosted the news conference, said Redemtech's refusal to export toxic e-waste "is vastly different than many other companies."
Coverage of the press conference and Redemtech’s efforts to stop e-waste export and landfilling is included in the following news items. Additional information about the GAO report can be found here.
Trade-US: Green Groups Say E-Waste Bill Is Too Lax
Inter Press Service, 5-24-09
Not in My Backyard: Stopping Illegal Export of Junked Televisions and Computers
American Scientific, 11-19-08
'Recyclers' Illegally Exporting Electronic Waste
The Epoch Times, 11-19-08
E-Waste: The Dirty Secret of Recycling Electronics
BusinessWeek, 10-15-08
Passing the Recycling Buck
Chemical & Engineering News, 9-29-08
EPA Lets Electronic Waste Flow Freely, GAO Report Says
Washington Post, 9-17-08
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