State Proposal to Allow CRT Glass into Landfills Imperils $2M Stockton Plant
California has long outlawed landfill disposal of glass from old television sets and computer monitors, because it’s heavily laden with lead and other toxic metals.
But in an unusual role reversal, state toxins regulators propose relaxing those rules, and some companies in the business of recycling glass from cathode-ray tubes, or CRTs, are objecting.
ECS Refining, a Santa Clara-based electronics waste-recycling company that is developing a $2 million CRT glass-sorting operation in Stockton, said the rule change could run counter to a consumer-supported recycling program and undermine the company’s investment in Stockton.
“We think land-filling glass that has a commercial value is ridiculous, especially under the guise of a recycling law,” said Bill McGeever, ECS’ vice president of operations in Stockton.
We pay for it
And California consumers, who pay a $6 to $10 recycling fee on new TV sets and computer screens, might well object, too.
“They’re not going to think it’s a great thing that some of these materials are starting to go into landfills,” McGeever said.
But the state is facing a mounting problem: what to do with the potentially toxic glass.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control, charged with dealing with the issue, said current rules require that such glass be recycled to make new CRTs or sent to a smelter that will extract the lead and other metals. But with the growing dominance of flat-panel displays, there’s little demand for new CRT screens, and lead smelting capacity is limited.
“As a result, large quantities of CRT glass are being stored and accumulated throughout California,” said Charlotte Fadipe, an agency spokeswoman.
That is burdening electronics waste handlers, who have no outlets for the material.
“In order to provide relief to these handlers and ensure that the glass is not mismanaged (or abandoned), it is imperative that these disposition options be expanded, with the appropriate safeguards, in a timely fashion,” Fadipe said in an email.
Source: Recordnet.com
By Reed Fujii