1. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Electronics Recycling Exports: Domestic v. Overseas Repair alternatives Robin Ingenthron President, American Retroworks Inc. VP, ElectroniCycle Inc. NRC Sept. 2002 – Austin, Texas

2. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Focus on Monitors USA demand 2001 - 50 Million monitors China Demand (est.) - 50 M monitors (20%) India Demand (est.) - 50 M monitors (25%) These 3 countries will consume about 450 million pounds of copper to meet this demand USA is mostly replacement based on changing consumer preference (not “obsolescence”). India/China are mostly first use

3. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Two Basic Recycling Goals Best possible/available environmental management Least possible/available cost The higher the cost, the lower the diversion The lower the cost, the higher the risk of TAR

4. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Summary of Alternatives

5. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 3 Kinds of Export 1.Unprocessed junk 2.Segregated, Demanufacured, and Graded scrap (copper, aluminum, palladium, etc.) 3.Re-use and Repair Which of these are superior to mining? How important are they to the cost of recycling?

6. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Labor cost to product value $ spent and earned per 1000 monitors

7. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 USA - Repair As repair declines waste management increases Estimated non-digital TVs destined for obsolescence: 100,000,000 TV repair employment 1980: 100,000+ (NESDA members) TV repair employment 2000: 39,000 (US BLS) TV repair employment, projected for 2010: 19,000 (US BLS) = fickle consumer demand = low USA tolerance for used / cosmetically “functional” = high cost ($22/hour) for Master Technician = poor recruitment into the field

8. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Realistic Reuse Goals % of units Re-usable % of weight Re-usable

9. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 - 2% re-use = 20% cost reduction - diminishing returns as re-use increases

10. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 USA Recycling or Disposal Jobs / Ton 1 ton = about 50 picture tubes source: EPA JTR Report

11. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 USA Repair Creates Jobs

12. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Overseas Repair - Good Practices Average life for all durables is more than doubled –cars, TVs, shoes, etc. are not “disposable” until “unrepairable” –Consumer demand / tolerance is high Positive revenue $5-20 per unit has strict conditions –US Technician appraised –Make / model / year / serial / condition / country of manufacture –No screen burn, 110/220 switches, SVGA –Each individually manifested monitor may be sold/refused individually –“Fly and Buy” and self-packing is common Different countries have different specialties and capacity –Singapore / Malaysia / India (where parts are made) –Latin America (Similar NTSC, power) –Eastern Europe (High technical skills)

13. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Overseas Repair - Bad Practices Toxics along for the ride (TAR) –Poorly packaged, hand-packed containers –“Buyer take all” sale conditions –Misrepresentation of condition Positive revenue a blurry picture –$ per unit v. Pennies per pound –“Goodies along for the Ride” (GAR) cigarettes, Harleys, cars –Tariff avoidance, dual bill of lading “Counterfeiting”, “grey market”, “enforced obsolescence” –Some repairers are “too good” –OEM influence on import rules –Warrantees

14. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 A real bad sign

15. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Compare 4 USA electronics scrap companies 20 USA employees: 0% sold for repair, 100% demanufacturing - ($.30/lb) 25 USA employees: 25% monitors sold for reuse/repair, positive revenue. 75% scrapped in USA at a cost - (.15/lb) 6 USA employees: 75% monitors shipped for scrap and repair at $0. 25% sent to company A above - (.06/lb) 1 USA employee: 100% export. Generator is sent shipping container and packing list - ($ 0) –Where are the toxics along for the ride?

16. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 4 Simple Rules for Exports All material must be individually listed on bill of lading. No “take it all deals”. Each listed item must be for positive revenue. US Company must have employee and plant capacity to demanufacture non-exportables. Keep a list of items never to be exported (e.g. CRT glass, gold). Demand to see export bill of lading or shipping manifests (with name removed to protect proprietary market relationships).

17. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Alternative: End World Mining Subsidies Percentage of gold, copper, silver, lead ores production from federal lands: 95% Projected Bureau of Land Management revenues from mineral royalties and leases: $300,000 Federal Employees managing mineral leases: 339 Bureau of Land Management lease /acre: $5 (set in 1872) Federal share of gold/copper/silver income: $0 Number hard-rock mines of 15 largest Superfund sites: 14 Mining % of ALL TOXICS from ALL US INDUSTRIES: 47% Typical copper smelter fine: $24,000 per day

18. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Copper - Production and Price For the first half of the century, “copper was king”. USA was world’s largest producer and exporter. As electronic/electric manufacturing moved to Asia and Latin America, so have copper foundries. USA exports less copper today than in 1900.

19. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 Longer Term Solutions to E-Waste Recycling CERCLA (Superfund) Reauthorization - Funded by taxpayers since industry funding expired in 1995, most expenses are non-ferrous mining related. US Telecommunications Act- Provides billions in free airwaves for transition to Digital TV, which will "obsolete" the majority of TVs now in service; no responsibility for recycling General Mining Act of 1872 - Terms have not been amended for 130 years. Federal Recycled Content Standards for Metals “Structured Relief” from EPA smelter fines Revise (1970 era) OEM Repair Support Rules

20. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 What about Asian Mining & Recycling? NO Superfund cleanup “Environmental Arms Race” Philippines, Indonesia, passed legislation modeled on 1872 General Mining Act Chinese mining deaths 2001: 5,000-6,000 Amazon/African gold mining uses elemental mercury Cyanide & arsenic are byproducts of virgin copper Copper as a percentage of mined Material, after cyanide leaching: <2% Of that copper, % “electronics grade” <10%

21. Good Point Recycling PO Box 1010 Middlebury, VT 05753 www.retroworks.com P: 802-382-8500 More Perspectives Www.ban.org www.unctad.org www.mineralpolicy.org www.mpi.org.au www.retroworks.com www.electronicycle.com