NYC COUNCIL DEBATES E-CYCLING LEGISLATION
New York City Councilmen Gifford Miller of Manhattan, Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn and Michael McMahon of Staten Island have sponsored electronics recycling legislation that calls for manufacturers to take responsibility for their end-of-life products.
McMahon told the New York Times that the proposed law would be integral to the city’s solid waste management plan.
The bill would call for manufacturers to submit a plan for collecting and recycling obsolete electronics to the Sanitation Department by 2008. The manufacturers would then have to collect the equivalent of 30 percent of their sales by 2010.
Manufacturers that donate reusable equipment to schools and nonprofit organizations would receive extra credit under the proposed law.
MARYLAND TO IMPLEMENT REGISTRATION FEE
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has signed House Bill 575, which calls for makers of desktop and laptop computers selling products in the state to pay a registration fee, into law.
As of Jan. 1, 2006, companies selling 1,000 or more computers per year in Maryland will have to pay a $5,000 registration fee. When a company demonstrates that it has an effective take-back program in place, the registration fee is reduced to $500 yearly.
The law requires the Office of Recycling within the Department of the Environment to administer the program.
MTI CORP. ACQUIRES METECH
MTI Corp. of Delaware has acquired electronics recycler Metech International, based in Mapleville, R.I.
According to a press release, Metech will continue to operate under its current name.
"Metech has the potential to become the leading e-waste recycling, asset management and precious metals recovery company in the United States," Sam Advani, president of MTI Corp., says. "The Metech management team has demonstrated great leadership, integrity and honesty during the course of their stewardship, and we look forward to working with them as we embark on a bold and ambitious plan for the company."
Metech will consolidate its precious metals services to its Gilroy, Calif., plant, which will result in some employee layoffs, Jim Gardner of Metech says. Additionally, the Rhode Island plant will relocate to Worcester, Mass., and will focus electronics recycling. The company says these changes will streamline operations and will facilitate future growth.
Gardner says Metech hopes to grow by forming formal partnerships with companies that agree to adhere to Metech’s Accountable Resource Management (ARM) protocols and possibly by acquisition of other electronics recycling companies or other related businesses. "The ARM protocols are formalized and are based on mitigation of risk for our customers and co-workers and on ethical businesses practices," he adds.
At the time of the sale, John Koskinas, who had served as Metech’s president, left the company.
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