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May 9, 2016

E-waste recycler in hot water with city

By JOURNAL STAFF

SEATTLE — The city of Seattle said on Friday that it is reviewing the terms of its electronic waste recycling contract with Total Reclaim following news that the Sodo-based company's certification as an environmentally responsible electronics processor had been withdrawn.

The nonprofit Basel Action Network, which operates the e-Stewards certification program, said in a statement that Total Reclaim had been “identified by (an) electronic tracking program to have exported mercury containing LCD monitors to Hong Kong.”

Seattle adopted BAN's e-Stewards recycling standards in 2012 as part of an effort to end shipping of dangerous electronic waste to developing countries.

Ken Snipes, director of Solid Waste for the city, called Total Reclaim's actions “a complete violation of public trust.”

Total Reclaim released a statement last week in which it apologized for “failing to live up to our commitments.”

The company said it has been squeezed by falling commodity prices, increasing labor costs, fixed-price contracts and a dramatic increase in flat-screen devices.




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