Oregon DEQ hits electronics recycler with $164k fines

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Seattle, Washington-headquartered Total Reclaim has been fined by Oregon regulatory authority for failing to properly recycle electronics collected at its Oregon facility. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued a fine of $164,400 in civil penalties to the company for illegal management of hazardous electronic waste at site and for exporting these waste to China in violation of existing laws.

Earlier during September last year, the company was issued a fine of $444,000 by the Washington Department of Ecology for alleged shipments of discarded electronic waste out of the country. Officials had stated the act as a blatant violation of public trust and the state law which requires electronics recyclers to ensure that all discarded e-waste is either recycled properly by them or is legitimately recycled elsewhere.

Following this, Oregon had ordered to conduct an investigation into the company’s operations in its Portland, Oregon facility in 6427 NE 59th Place. By mid-2016, Oregon DEQ determined that the company has illegally disposed of electronic waste overseas, especially into China. After DEQ’s finding, Oregon E-Cycles discontinued its contract with Total Reclaim. Incidentally, the company was the service provider for the manufacturer-financed statewide electronics collection and recycling programme.

The enforcement letter issued by the DEQ cites three major violations. According to DEQ, the company failed to make hazardous waste determination on flat screens processed by them during 2009-2015. Also, the company allegedly transported more than 6,000 pounds of hazardous waste without a hazardous waste manifest. The third violation noted that the company failed to submit annual hazardous waste reports and fees to DEQ for many years. In addition to fines, the DEQ has ordered Total Reclaim to submit annual hazardous waste generator reports for calendar year 2013, 2014 and 2015. It must also pay any unpaid generator fees.

It must be noted that the BAN investigation in 2015 through placement of GPS tracker devices to almost 200 non-functioning printers and monitors had revealed that majority of the tracked e-waste had landed up in recycling yards in Hong Kong where they were handled using most primitive techniques. The report had blamed Total Reclaim for their involvement in such acts. Also, the company had later admitted that it had been illegally shipping flat screens to Hong Kong for over seven years.

Total Reclaim has 20 calendar days from the date of receipt of the notice to forward a written request for hearing. The hearing will be conducted in the presence of an administrative law judge employed by the Office of Administrative Hearings. The penalty will become due on non-receipt of timely written hearing request. The DEQ could allow the company to resolve part of the penalty through implementation of environmental improvement projects. Meantime, total Reclaim officials were not available to comment on the matter.

About Total Reclaim

Total Reclaim is the leading recycler of computers and electronics in the Pacific Northwest. Total Reclaim is approved as a Collector, a Transporter and a Preferred Processor for Washington’s E-Cycles Electronics Recycling Program. It also works with all three of the manufacturer stewardship programs operating under the Oregon E-Cycles program.