The company, ZKW Trading, attempted to ship two 40-foot containers filled with cathode ray tubes (CRTs) - the video display parts from televisions and computer monitors that are high in lead content - to Hong Kong.

The containers, labeled as plastic scrap, were rejected by Hong Kong customs authorities and returned to the United States in July.

Had they been allowed to arrive in China, the old TVs and monitors may have been dangerously discarded after being stripped of the small amounts of gold and copper wiring that lie inside, according to Jim Polek, environmental engineer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

That option is more profitable than responsible recycling, he said.

"They go for anything they can get value from and then they do this rudimentary recycling that is terrible for the environment," Polek said. "CRTs are actually many different components - plastic casings, circuit boards and they might just burn that ... releasing heavy metals, toxins into the air."

The Environmental Protection Agency has given ZKW Trading 45 days to come up with a plan to legally dispose of the waste or face a fine of up to $37,500 a day.

Federal environmental regulations require companies shipping CRTs to another country for recycling to notify the EPA and receive written consent from the receiving country.

ZKW Trading made no such notification.

Enforcing the regulation is difficult, Polek said. The agency relies heavily on tips, particularly from customs agents.

"It goes on quite a lot, and they are pretty sly ... (violators) will work out of people's houses ... then if something happens, they just close up shop and move on," Polek said.

Officials from ZKW Trading could not be reached for comment.

With consumers constantly upgrading to better TVs and computers, tons of electronic waste is produced every year. Much of it can't be thrown in regular landfills because of its high lead content.

What can be done with it is limited, Polek said.

If the electronics work, they can be shipped to other countries, typically developing countries, for their direct reuse as televisions or computers.

They can also be recycled to make CRT glass for use in traditional televisions, though demand for such glass is severely limited since most electronics use newer technology, Polek said. They can also be recycled for lead, though that process can be costly.

"When we talk about recycling, people think about aluminum cans, and how they can get paid to recycle them. But with CRTs, people have to pay to recycle them. It's expensive," Polek said.

In California, when consumers buy new electronics, they are charged an electronic waste recycling fee, ranging from $8 to $25, that goes toward the cost of recycling e-waste across the state.

The electronics that ZKW Trading attempted to ship to Hong Kong were likely from out of state, Polek said.