URT, Hanil Eco Solutions partner to achieve Basel compliance

Universal Recycling Technologies (URT), a Janesville, Wisconsin-based information technology asset disposition (ITAD) and end-of-life electronics solutions company, is collaborating with Santa Ana, California-based plastics management company Hanil Eco Solutions to achieve Basel Convention compliance in the e-plastics recycling market.

The companies say the partnership marks a “significant milestone” in their commitment to ethical and environmentally responsible practices and adherence to international standards in hazardous waste management.

“Our collaboration with Hanil Eco solutions intends to lead the industry with our dedication to not just following international standards but advancing electronic recycling standards domestically and abroad,” URT President Ken Thomas says. “Together, we will work towards a future where electronic waste is managed in an ethically and environmentally sound manner, benefitting communities worldwide.”

The Basel Convention is an international treaty designed to reduce the movement of hazardous waste between countries. The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Conventionin June 2022 adopted amendments to Annexes II, VIII and IX to the Cconvention with the objectives of enlarging the control of transboundary movements of e-scrap and making all electronic and electrical scrap subject to the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure.

According to a news release announcing the partnership, URT and Hanil Eco Solutions will leverage their combined expertise to implement best practices in e-plastics separation and reprocessing to advance both companies’ efforts to ensure compliance with international standards by promoting sustainability within the global electronics industry.

The objectives of the partnership include:

• Enhanced recycling processes. URT and Hanil Eco Solutions will work to develop and implement advanced recycling technologies that meet Basel Convention standards and reduce the environmental impact of e-plastic scrap.
• Sustainable supply chain management. The partnership aims to create a sustainable supply chain for e-plastics recycling to ensure materials are processed and disposed of “responsibly and ethically.”
• Global compliance. The companies say that by continuing to align operations with Basel Convention standards, their collaboration will ensure all e-plastic recycling activities adhere to international laws and regulations, “promoting transparency and accountability.”
• Innovation and research. URT and Hanil Eco Solutions plan to invest in research and development to explore “innovative solutions” for e-plastics recycling, which they say will drive progress and set new standards for the electronics recycling industry.

Since 2016, URT reportedly has invested more than $5 million into researching and implementing a plastics recovery system. The system and its multitank setup are designed to separate different plastic polymers based on density, allowing recovery of metals and plastic from shredded e-scrap. URT says this technology increases plastic recovery from electronics, reduces the need for landfill and minimizes environmental impact. The system produces four outputs: metals, heavy plastics, polyethylene (PE)/polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS)/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

Meanwhile, Hanil Eco Solutions’ electrostatic separation equipment uses what it says is advanced technology to separate plastics. It uses triboelectric charges on the different plastics—the mixture of polystyrene (PS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is charged by friction in a tribo-cyclone and the ABS acquires a positive charge and proceeds to the first bin while PS remains negatively charged and goes into a second bin. Hanil says this process allows the separated PS and ABS to be 100 percent Basel compliant.

“Our collaboration with URT underscores our dedication to advancing the electronic recycling industry,” Hanil Eco Solutions President Suk Yoon says. “This collaboration reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship on a global scale and positions us at the forefront of responsible electronic waste management.”

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