Good Point Recycling Electronics Recycling Exports Domestic v

Good Point Recycling Electronics Recycling Exports: Domestic v. Overseas Repair alternatives Robin Ingenthron President, American Retroworks Inc. VP, Electroni. Cycle Inc. NRC Sept. 2002 – Austin, Texas PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Focus on Monitors • • USA demand 2001 - 50 Million monitors China Demand (est. ) - 50 M monitors (20%) India Demand (est. ) - 50 M monitors (25%) These 3 countries will consume about 450 million pounds of copper to meet this demand • USA is mostly replacement based on changing consumer preference (not “obsolescence”). India/China are mostly first use PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Two Basic Recycling Goals • Best possible/available environmental management • Least possible/available cost The higher the cost, the lower the diversion PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 The lower the cost, the higher the risk of TAR www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Summary of Alternatives PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling 3 Kinds of Export 1. Unprocessed junk 2. Segregated, Demanufacured, and Graded scrap (copper, aluminum, palladium, etc. ) 3. Re-use and Repair • Which of these are superior to mining? How important are they to the cost of recycling? PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Labor cost to product value $ spent and earned per 1000 monitors PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling USA - Repair • As repair declines waste management increases • Estimated non-digital TVs destined for obsolescence: 100, 000 • TV repair employment 1980: 100, 000+ (NESDA members) • TV repair employment 2000: 39, 000 (US BLS) • TV repair employment, projected for 2010: 19, 000 (US BLS) = fickle consumer demand = low USA tolerance for used / cosmetically “functional” = high cost ($22/hour) for Master Technician = poor recruitment into the field PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Realistic Reuse Goals % of units Re-usable PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 % of weight Re-usable www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling - 2% re-use = 20% cost reduction - diminishing returns as re-use increases PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling USA Recycling or Disposal Jobs / Ton 1 ton = about 50 picture tubes source: EPA JTR Report PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling USA Repair Creates Jobs PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Overseas Repair - Good Practices • Average life for all durables is more than doubled – cars, TVs, shoes, etc. are not “disposable” until “unrepairable” – Consumer demand / tolerance is high • Positive revenue $5 -20 per unit has strict conditions – – – US Technician appraised Make / model / year / serial / condition / country of manufacture No screen burn, 110/220 switches, SVGA Each individually manifested monitor may be sold/refused individually “Fly and Buy” and self-packing is common • Different countries have different specialties and capacity – Singapore / Malaysia / India (where parts are made) – Latin America (Similar NTSC, power) – Eastern Europe (High technical skills) PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Overseas Repair - Bad Practices • Toxics along for the ride (TAR) – Poorly packaged, hand-packed containers – “Buyer take all” sale conditions – Misrepresentation of condition • Positive revenue a blurry picture – $ per unit v. Pennies per pound – “Goodies along for the Ride” (GAR) cigarettes, Harleys, cars – Tariff avoidance, dual bill of lading • “Counterfeiting”, “grey market”, “enforced obsolescence” – Some repairers are “too good” – OEM influence on import rules – Warrantees PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling A real bad sign PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Compare 4 USA electronics scrap companies • 20 USA employees: 0% sold for repair, 100% demanufacturing - ($. 30/lb) • 25 USA employees: 25% monitors sold for reuse/repair, positive revenue. 75% scrapped in USA at a cost (. 15/lb) • 6 USA employees: 75% monitors shipped for scrap and repair at $0. 25% sent to company A above - (. 06/lb) • 1 USA employee: 100% export. Generator is sent shipping container and packing list - ($ 0) – Where are the toxics along for the ride? PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling 4 Simple Rules for Exports • All material must be individually listed on bill of lading. No “take it all deals”. • Each listed item must be for positive revenue. • US Company must have employee and plant capacity to demanufacture non-exportables. • Keep a list of items never to be exported (e. g. CRT glass, gold). Demand to see export bill of lading or shipping manifests (with name removed to protect proprietary market relationships). PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Alternative: End World Mining Subsidies ü Percentage of gold, copper, silver, lead ores production from federal lands: 95% ü Projected Bureau of Land Management revenues from mineral royalties and leases: $300, 000 ü Federal Employees managing mineral leases: 339 ü Bureau of Land Management lease /acre: $5 (set in 1872) ü Federal share of gold/copper/silver income: $0 ü Number hard-rock mines of 15 largest Superfund sites: 14 ü Mining % of ALL TOXICS from ALL US INDUSTRIES: 47% ü Typical copper smelter fine: $24, 000 per day PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Copper - Production and Price For the first half of the century, “copper was king”. USA was world’s largest producer and exporter. As electronic/electric manufacturing moved to Asia and Latin America, so have copper foundries. USA exports less copper today than in 1900. PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling Longer Term Solutions to E-Waste Recycling • CERCLA (Superfund) Reauthorization - Funded by taxpayers since industry funding expired in 1995, most expenses are non-ferrous mining related. • US Telecommunications Act - Provides billions in free airwaves for transition to Digital TV, which will "obsolete" the majority of TVs now in service; no responsibility for recycling • General Mining Act of 1872 - Terms have not been amended for 130 years. • Federal Recycled Content Standards for Metals • “Structured Relief” from EPA smelter fines • Revise (1970 era) OEM Repair Support Rules PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling What about Asian Mining & Recycling? • NO Superfund cleanup • “Environmental Arms Race” Philippines, Indonesia, passed legislation modeled on 1872 General Mining Act • Chinese mining deaths 2001: 5, 000 -6, 000 • Amazon/African gold mining uses elemental mercury • Cyanide & arsenic are byproducts of virgin copper PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 Copper as a percentage of mined Material, after cyanide leaching: <2% Of that copper, % “electronics grade” <10% www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500

Good Point Recycling More Perspectives • • • Www. ban. org www. unctad. org www. mineralpolicy. org www. mpi. org. au www. retroworks. com www. electronicycle. com PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www. retroworks. com P: 802 -382 -8500