Where is this e-waste going?

If you’re wondering how the U.S. disposes of toxic e-waste substances, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found the answer: the U.S. exports the used electronic devices to other countries. In doing so, it does not pay much attention to regulation and enforcement that would protect their people and their environment.

The country does have some rules.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued guidelines in January 2007 regulating the exports of used cathode-ray tubes (used in TV sets and PC monitors). The CRTs contain as much as 4 pounds of lead, which harms the nerves and the nervous system in humans. There are no guidelines regarding exports of other toxic e-waste.

The laws are limited, but even these are not being enforced by the EPA.

The rules impose an obligation on exporters to notify the EPA about the shipment and obtain prior consent from the receiving countries. Recycling companies in the U.S. ignore these regulations, yet the EPA just ignores the violations, said the GAO.

The GAO cites an instance where U.S. companies illegally exported 26 containers of used CRTs to Hong Kong. The officials in Hong Kong turned back the shipment. In one instance, officials even sent back the CRTs to the port of origin (Los Angeles) and the exporter brazenly shipped the goods back to Hong Kong.

According to EPA estimates, people in the U.S. discarded 330 million units of various electronic devices in 2006 and roughly 66 million units (20 percent) were exported. The country produces at least 2.6 million tons of e-waste each year.

A substantial amount of the e-waste is shipped to India and China, according to the GAO report. Other Asian countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, and parts of West Africa are also recipients of these illegal exports from the U.S.

Once it gets there, the items are disposed of or recycled by crude and inefficient means. Wires are burned in the open air to recover copper and open-air acid baths are used to loosen and separate metals. There are virtually no safeguards for human or environmental protection.

The EPA said the GAO report overstated the problem and was ultimately misleading. The agency said readers of the report may be led to think that a huge share of U.S. electronic waste is being reused and recycled globally.

The agency also said is has launched 20 investigations, issued one complaint and come to a settlement on one case.

The GAO had contacted 343 recyclers during its investigation and got into deeper discussions with 43 companies. Industry sources said only about 5 percent of electronics recyclers do not export items with toxic substances.

The GAO believes EPA should not limit its guidelines to CRTs but should expand the types of electronics where exports of waste units are regulated.

A U.S. Congressman has called on Congress to pass a law that would create a nationwide standard for electronics recycling and export.