Electronics Recycling

The February meeting of industry, government and environmental stakeholders involved in the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) in Portland, Ore., endorsed a draft resolution stating the process for future action.

Negotiations among the 45 participants in NEPSI have been hampered by the inability to settle on a financing system that all the industry stakeholders could agree on. The proposed draft system is a hybrid model that consists of an advanced recovery fee on products at the point of sale, with an eventual transition to a funding phase that incorporates partial cost internalization. The model is to cover TVs and TV monitors, both CRTs and flat screens, stand-alone computer CRTs and flat panel monitors greater than 9 inches, laptops, CPUs, small peripherals (mice, keyboards, speakers) and consumer desktop devices (printers).

Some industry stakeholders prefer that an alternative system to the advance recovery fee will be available, giving their companies an opportunity to meet the same system goals in their own ways without a point-of-sale fee on their products.

"The states still seek a national solution over state-by-state programs, and we stand ready to continue negotiations should industry coalesce on a viable national financing system," Scott Cassel, director of the Product Stewardship Institute, Lowell, Mass., says.

Catherine Wilt, NEPSI coordinator and policy director for the Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies at the University of Tennessee, says the NEPSI dialogue has fostered greater understanding of the problems related to electronics disposal and a deeper appreciation of how these problems impact all stakeholders. "While we have not reached an agreement yet, we are extremely close," she says.

IAER ANNOUNCES SUMMIT THEME

The International Association of Electronics Recyclers (IAER), Albany, and the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Electronics and the Environment (ISEE), Washington, D.C., will host their annual joint conference on electronics recycling May 10-13, 2004.

The conference is comprised of two major components: the ISEE Symposium May 10-12 and IAER Electronics Recycling Summit May 10, 12 and 13.

The ISEE symposium focuses on research findings and technology advancement. Original manufacturers, academia, electronics recyclers, public policy makers and consultants will present technical papers on various topics, including designing for the environment, electronics recycling, reverse logistics and environmental policies.

The IAER Summit focuses on providing an effective platform to discuss the practical issues confronting the electronics recycling industry.

The theme for the summit is "After Transformation — Let’s Soar!" The theme explores how recyclers have responded to the fundamental changes to the industry resulting from domestic and international economic, environmental and legislative developments. These questions will be addressed in moderated sessions to be held during the summit. The summit will include facility tours to Arizona-based electronics recyclers.

The IAER’s affiliated educational organization the International Electronics Recyclers Institute (IERI) will feature two courses designed to enhance the technical and managerial skills of recyclers, governmental institutions and other related organizations May 10.

Detailed program information is available online at www.iseeconference.com or at www.iaer.org (click the "Electronics Recycling Summit" link).

The Polymer Alliance Zone of West Virginia (PAZ) through its electronic platforms GreenOnline.com and ElectronicsRecycling.org  has announced the creation of a centralized data repository for electronics recycling related information.

This project, which is in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Electronic Industries Alliance, will provide up-to-date information on the collection and recycling of electronic waste.

The data repository is an open, collaborative public/private data sharing project built around the creation of several XML standards to aid in the sharing of data and results from electronics recycling efforts.

The first initiative involves developing common data elements in cooperation with EPA’s Plug-In to eCycling program.

The Plug-In Pilots are collaborative efforts among EPA, retailers, equipment manufacturers, recyclers and state and local officials and include regional electronics recycling pilot projects in the Northeast, Minnesota and the Pacific Northwest.

PAZ is 501 (C) 3 non-profit economic development organization that seeks to support the growth and development of a viable electronics recycling industry through the MARCEE project for plastics from end-of-life electronics.

The IEEE International Symposium on Electronics & the Environment, to be held in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 10-12, will include a paper titled "Development of XML Industry Standards for Information Exchange and Commerce." The conference will address the technical issues regarding an industry XML schema and development process in detail.

IMAGE MICROSYSTEMS EXPANDS

Image Microsystems (IMI) of Austin, Texas, has announced the opening of its newest location in Nashville. The addition of the Nashville site to IMI’s current facilities in Los Angles and Austin minimizes shipping costs and speeds up service for customers in the eastern U.S.

Danny Dalton is operations manger for the Nashville facility and has more than 15 years of management experience in logistics, materials management, distribution and operations. Dalton has managed relationships with HP, Motorola, Sony, Casio and Dell in his management roles at Solectron and Ryder Logisitics. He has recently completed a MBA certificate program from Tulane University, New Orleans.

"One of the major priorities for Image Microsystems is customer service, and having the Nashville facility under Danny’s leadership will provide better service and lower logistics costs for deliveries and pick-ups from the eastern U.S.," Rocky Bullock, president of IMI says.

IMI is a reverse logistics, recycling and remarketing company specializing in processing electronic technology equipment.