Minnesota recycling company tries to illegally dump electronic waste overseas
Two recycling companies were recently caught trying to export e-waste, including CRT monitors, to Vietnam. Metro Metals Corp., based in Toronto, Canada, and Avista Recycling Inc., based in Hopkins, Minnesota, have been ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency to properly dispose of the computer waste. EPA is seeking a $31,600 penalty for violating federal hazardous waste laws.
The EPA claims the companies exported a shipment of 913 discarded computer monitors to Vietnam on December 6, 2010. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted the shipment.
“Companies that collect discarded cathode ray tubes must be held accountable to manage these wastes in compliance with our laws which ensure that they will be properly handled, and not sent abroad to countries that have not agreed to receive waste from the U.S.” said Edward Kowalski, EPA’s Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle.
Some televisions and computer monitors contain cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Color computer CRT monitors contain an average of four pounds of lead. CRTs may also contain mercury, cadmium and arsenic.
