Today Good Point Recycling, an independent TV and computer collector and consultant in Middlebury, Vermont, announced it has vetted a simple "CRT Recycling Test" for recyclers to show that they really recycle.

Monitor and TV recycling is becoming a big business because of lead in the glass tubes. Massachusetts, Maine, and California have banned their disposal, the European Union, Korea and Japan have passed take-back laws.

But while some companies have made big investments in recycling plants in the USA, others simply send the CRTs to other countries with lax disposal laws. Valuable copper and aluminum are scavenged from the TVs, and the lead glass is left in a pile.

Eventually, recyclers hope that state contracts will disqualify unscrupulous exporters. In the meantime, however, obtaining a report from the recycler on their CRT glass shipments provides for simple and effective way "due diligence".

If you care whether your recycler is recycling, you can verify answers to two questions:

1. How many tons of electronics did you collect?
2. How much processed glass did you ship? Most recyclers show between 25% and 50% of outgoing shipments are leaded glass, recycled at glass furnaces or lead smelters.

Ingenthron says his collection company is solicited by many other companies in search of copper and working monitors. Some say they will accept junk TVs, as toxics along for the ride. "CRT glass contains most of the toxic lead, and typically represents over 40% of the weight of mixed electronics," says Ingenthron. "If the processor collects 10 million pounds of electronics recycling, then I look for about 400,000 lbs. of glass being recycled.

"Most of the recyclers we surveyed in the Northeast were more than happy to provide this type of documentation, and applaud the test." A list of the 10 largest companies is available.

Angry Reactions

There may be a couple of shockers, however. "One of the largest companies provided their destination, and when the destination denied receiving the glass, they gave me a new destination. When that one denied managing all their glass, the company threatened to sue if we disclose the test results."

Ingenthron recognized that other Pledges and Certifications are available, but says they may be difficult to understand and verify. "Some certifications and organizational memberships are available to any bidder," he says. "Waste managers are busy people, and they wind up using 'EPA ID Numbers' -- which could as well be superfund sites."

Organizations and companies which commented on the CRT RECYCLING TEST include non-profits such as Basel Action Network, Per Scholas, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, EPA, and Vermont's Business Materials Exchange, as well as professionals from recycling companies Envirocycle, ElectroniCycle, Dlubek, Total Reclaim, NewTech, and others.

While some organizations want stricter rules, or prefer "glass to glass" recycling, or want the glass processed by machine rather than by hand, all agreed that a company which shows NO glass recovery is more than a bit "fishy".

The amended CRT Recycling Test has been posted publicly at http://www.retroworks.com/publications.htm. press@retroworks.com

Robin Ingenthron: 802-382-8500, robin@good-point.net, robin@retroworks.com