Electronics Recycling Department

E-Scrap 2004: The North American Electronics Recycling Conference will take place Oct. 19-20, 2004, in Minneapolis at the Hilton Minneapolis. Resource Recycling, publisher of E-Scrap News and Resource Recycling magazine, is the conference sponsor.

The conference will focus on issues surrounding the management of obsolete electronics. Seminar sessions will target several of the key issues in electronics product stewardship, including current recovery efforts, e-scrap market dynamics, processing trends and political and policy considerations. E-Scrap 2004 will attract U.S. and Canadian attendees and will feature presentations by leading experts in electronics product stewardship, according to a press release issued by the event’s planners.

E-Scrap 2004 will also feature an exhibit hall with representatives from e-scrap processors, consulting services, e-scrap material users and processing equipment providers.

The E-Scrap News Web site www.e-scrapnews.com offers complete information about the conference, including registration information. Additional information is also available by contacting Sarah Austria, conference coordinator at Resource Recycling magazine, by phone at (503) 233-1305 or by e-mail at sarah@resource-recycling.com.

The California State Assembly has passed Assembly Bill 2901, requiring retailers of cellular phones to recycle old telephones at no cost, by a vote of 41-32.

The bill, sponsored by Assembly Member Fran Pavley, also would require public education to promote cell phone recycling policies.

Pavley says that nearly 40,000 cell phones are thrown away daily in California. She adds that cell phones’ circuit boards contain toxins, such as arsenic, beryllium and lead, that can potentially be released into the air and groundwater when burned in incinerators or disposed of in landfills.

After passing the California General Assembly, the bill was submitted to the California State Senate, where it was read for the first time in late May.