Company Recycling E-Waste For Charities Charged By EPA With Dumping Toxic Wastes In S. Africa

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EarthEcycle, the company that conducted a free electronics recycling program for the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society and other area charitable organizations earlier this year, has been charged with dumping electronic waste in South Africa.

The new charges by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- added to allegations the Tulsa, Okla.-based company also dumped waste electronics in Hong Kong -- are part of an amended complaint filed July 2 against the company. EarthEcycle is owned by Jeff Nixon, a former Allegheny County Health Department employee. The company, which has partnered with six Pittsburgh-area charitable organizations this year, collected millions of pounds of electronic equipment and is charged with violating at least seven federal hazardous waste management regulations.

Such dumping of electronics in foreign countries can expose workers and residents to toxic materials like mercury, lead and arsenic that can cause cancer and other illnesses.

The complaint states that on May 1, EarthEcycle exported two, 40-foot-long sea-going shipping containers containing 2,016 used computer monitors through the port of Baltimore to South Africa. When customs officials there opened the containers, monitors closest to the doors were not packed to prevent breakage and fell out. On June 24, following an investigation of the containers, South African officials determined they contained electronic waste that is prohibited from entering the country.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09196/983922-113.stm#ixzz0LLjW40WQ&D


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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09196/983922-113.stm