Electronics Department

 Pike Research Releases Report on Electronics Recycling
A recent survey by Boulder, Colo.-based Pike Research titled “Electronics Recycling and E-Waste Issues” finds that more than three-fourths of respondents feel recycling is the most appropriate way to handle obsolete electronics. The amount of electronic scrap generated is expected to reach 73 million metric tons by 2010.

“The consumer is an integral link in the chain for electronics recycling and e-waste management,” says Clint Wheelock, Pike Research managing director. “In order for the industry to achieve its goals, consumer values, attitudes and behavior will need to support responsible handling of end-of-life electronics equipment. Popular sentiment is also essential to support the political will of governments as they strive to mitigate e-waste issues through legislation and regulation.”

Key findings of Pike Research’s survey include:

• 37 percent of consumers said they felt that electronics recycling should be free, while an additional 35 percent stated that electronics should be collected and processed as part of a curbside recycling program.

• Only 14 percent of respondents said they felt that the cost of electronics recycling should be borne by consumers at the points of purchase or recycling. Ten percent of respondents supported the concept of producer responsibility.

• The average consumer has 2.8 pieces of unused, broken or obsolete electronic equipment in his or her home or in storage, according to the survey.

• Consumers surveyed estimated that the cost of collecting, hauling, demanufacturing and recycling a single piece of used electronics equipment was $12; however, Pike Research’s analysis indicates that the true cost involved is more than $20.

Korean Conglomerate Invests in ERI

Seoul, South Korea-based LS-Nikko, one of the world’s largest copper smelting firms, has become a minority investor in Electronic Recyclers International (ERI), a Fresno, Calif.- based recycler of electronic scrap with locations in several states.

LS-Nikko has invested in ERI to tap into it as an “urban mining” resource for precious metals, according to an ERI news release. In turn, ERI can look at LS-Nikko and its facilities as a reliable home for the secondary commodities that come from its electronic scrap recycling facilities. ERI says it processes some 140 million pounds of obsolete electronics each year.

“We are so honored and humbled to be partnering with one of the world’s top brands and business families in LS-Nikko,” says John S. Shegerian, ERI’s chairman and CEO. “That this legendary organization, combining great industry minds from Korea and Japan, has chosen to place significant focus on urban mining for copper and other precious metals for smelting speaks volumes about this exciting new trend in our industry.”

Shegerian adds, “It has been a humbling and great experience. It’s like learning that Warren Buffet wants to invest in your company.”

The ERI CEO says he sees several benefits from the agreement. “Our partnership makes sense for the environment and offers tremendous opportunities for commodity recovery, as electronic scrap is the fastest growing [scrap] stream in the world today,” says Shegerian.

Dr. S.W. Kang, president and CEO of LS-Nikko, says, “Proper waste management is not just a business option any more but one of the compulsory requirements of mankind. Everyone should try to reduce waste, and all waste should be managed safely and with the right environmental processes in place. With this in mind, I think we have to consider the recycling business as a public utility rather than a commercial profit center. We’re so pleased to find the right recycling partner in the U.S.A.”

LS-Nikko Copper produces and supplies metals used by the world’s electric and electronics industries.
Shegerian says the LS-Nikko investment will allow ERI to expand its electronics shredding capacity as necessary and to invest in recovery and sorting technology to optimize the value of secondary commodities harvested from electronic scrap.

More information on ERI and its services is available at www.electronicrecyclers.com.