US recycler accused of illegal CRT exports

Archiv – An EPA-certified US recycler has been accused by a CBS television report and government investigation of illegally exporting cathode ray tube (CRT) screens to China.
Executive Recycling of Englewood, Colorado, was featured on CBS’ well-known documentary ’60 Minutes’. A team of investigators led by presenter Scott Pelley visited the Chinese recycling hub of Guiyu, which has become linked with hazardous e-waste recycling practices. It proved to be a hazardous experience for the CBS reporters: they were jumped by a gang overseeing e-waste operations who tried to take their cameras, but the crew managed to escape with their footage.United States / China | An EPA-certified US recycler has been accused by a CBS television report and government investigation of illegally exporting cathode ray tube (CRT) screens to China.
Executive Recycling of Englewood, Colorado, was featured on CBS’ well-known documentary ’60 Minutes’. A team of investigators led by presenter Scott Pelley visited the Chinese recycling hub of Guiyu, which has become linked with hazardous e-waste recycling practices. It proved to be a hazardous experience for the CBS reporters: they were jumped by a gang overseeing e-waste operations who tried to take their cameras, but the crew managed to escape with their footage.
The CBS team also visited an e-waste collection day in the USA organised by Executive Recycling. Mr Pelley confronted the company’s Chief Executive Officer Brandon Richter with documents and photos of a container loaded with CRT screens which had originated from Executive Recycling and had been found in the Hong Kong Seaport.
A recently-released report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) names Executive Recycling as one of 43 exporters which had been tracked and had been found to be offering CRT screens to China – an illegal act in the USA if not the subject of prior notification to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mr Richter has described the CBS coverage as ’unfair’ while a company statement denies any direct involvement. It reads: ’Sadly, Executive Recycling appears now to be the victim of others who have obtained electronic and computer products from our company and then acted irresponsibly.’ According to the firm, it will not sell anything to any purchaser if it has knowledge that the buyer plans to break the law. ’However, no business can be responsible for the subsequent improper actions of others who lawfully purchase products from them and hide their intentions to engage in misconduct,’ the company statement adds.
The company says the buyers had sought to give the impression that their shipment was the responsibility of Executive Recycling. ’We have discovered that forged documents (provided by the port authorities) were used to improperly shift blame to us when Executive Recycling sold the tested working units to a Canadian wholesale buyer,’ it says. The firm is currently seeking to take legal action against the wholesale buyer.
It has been alleged that a representative of Executive Recycling told GAO researchers that the company does not export CRTs but, instead, recycles all of them in-house. ’This same person offered to sell 1500 CRT monitors and 1200 CRT televisions, which were ready for immediate shipment, to our fictitious broker in Hong Kong,’ according to the GAO.
Paid around US$ 8 a day, e-waste workers in Guiyu were found to be using caustic chemicals and burning the plastic parts in order to obtain valuable components, often releasing toxins that are inhaled as well as released into the air, ground and water.