Came across this article that might be of interest for you e-cyclers. Sorry it is only a partial article.
Couple is fined for e-cycling in home | AMM | 9/10/2012
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Came across this article that might be of interest for you e-cyclers. Sorry it is only a partial article.
Couple is fined for e-cycling in home | AMM | 9/10/2012
Greene County Couple Accused of Improperly Disposing E-Waste
here's a complete article. Not much more information but still a good heads up for scrappers everywhere
Wow that's in my state. So your no supost to take ewaste apart or what?
You might want to check the state reg's or maybe Dept. of Environmental Management for your state.Quote:
Originally Posted by kcscrapper
I'm allowed to as a "small time dismantler" as long as I'm removing the left overs on a regular basis and not dumping anything.
Ha! FINED! for ALLEDGEDLY! dang! what kinda town is that? There's also a 43% are furious?? Furious about what? Furious because they were recycling, or furious because they were fined?
Improperly disposing of ewaste. Probably roadside dumping. I'm curious because everything I've come across can be disposed if or recycled properly. Technically couldn't all people who put Electronics out curbside be fined?
might also be possible they were using hazardous chemicals for gold recovery and skipping proper disposal methods.
20 thousand is a hefty smack on the wrist........
far as I know "alledged" merely means accused of it. How is they were fined over allegations? Yall must be right about the "something more than tearing down a computer" aspect
When I originally joined the site I had mentioned registering or getting specific permits to handle e-waste. They are normally rather inexpensive and the process is normally quite simple. Some states are different than others. In NY it is easy to register and the fee is around $200.00. This does require you to keep logs of the weights coming in and out and where the e-waste is inevitably going.
Like I said though, every state is different. Better safe than sorry. By registering and getting your permits it also gives you something to show your customers. Peace of mind goes a long way..
So if you dispose of the materials properly you're good right? They were probably throwing like plastic and crap over a bank on the side of a dirt road which is illegal correct?
These are not people being convicted of theft, murder, etc. These are environmental violations. There are fines that are immediately presented. They will have their day in court, more than likely with the Environmental control board. It sounds to me that they were mixing their household garbage with the stuff that they considered excess waste from their business. That is how most home businesses get caught. If you are running a home business and create more waste or different types of waste that are outside the normal household waste stream, your garbage men are trained to see it and say something. The property taxes you pay only cover the cost of normal household garbage, not the garbage that is created through running a home business. Now, if you were running a home business that only created some excess paper from printing things by working on a computer all day, that is one thing. But if you are dismantling hundreds of computers, that is a completely different ball of wax.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bear
did some more digging on the original story link and noticed the "tags" created for the search engines to index the story
one of the tags was "lead" so clicking on that tag brought up this missing nugget of info
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...ster/fined.jpg
Also in the original article it is mentioned that broken glass from CRT monitors was found in this couples yard. Apparently they were breaking the glass from the used monitors and possibly trying to dispose of it in their yard. I think we all know what a health risk this can create if the lead would get into the drinking water.Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtoothlessbassmaster
Quote:
A follow-up inspection showed that the materials had been removed, but broken cathode ray tube glass was found in the yard and the Coffmans did not provide inspectors with details of what happened to six pallets of electronic scrap.
" the Coffmans did not provide inspectors with details of what happened to six pallets of electronic scrap" no wonder the neighbors are complaining
Nice digging! They were probably smashing the glass and throwing it into a garbage bag. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of these lawsuits. Larger companies, especially companies who do not pay for scrap, will feel the heat from small e-waste recyclers (as they will be getting less of the valuable stuff and more of the invaluable stuff). Their response will be to make barriers of entry for anyone else in the business. We see this in the lawn care business already. To spray any type of weed killer (like you would buy at Wall Mart) requires you to have a pesticide licenses. The fine is 10,000. Small companies like me cannot pay $250 a year to keep this certification, where as larger companies can. So, I simply have to tell my customers I cannot do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtoothlessbassmaster
It's best to keep a paper trail.
Get reciepts from Staples or Good Will (so you can show you were properly disposing them)
Take pics of all hard drives being destroyed
Technically in Michigan it's a $2,000 license, but there are only like 8-10 places in the whole state that actually have the license.
no doubt they would of been crushing and burying, the fine should of been more, like an extra zero.
but roundup? think people that use roundup should be shot too, what's wrong with pulling up a weed?
or what about pouring boiling water on it?
roundup is for losers, scum of the world are people that use it infact, aswell as monsanto who make it and cover up the truth about it.
Some things carry an automatic fine, like parking tickets for instance. It's up to the individual to accept the fine and pay it or seek to be acquitted.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bear
those links won't work for me so I still don't see the full article. I do however, see a lot of "i suppose" "Apparently they were" "probably" "sounds to me" etc, all assuming. Meanwhile I still believe it could be as innocent, or no more than things like we all do most every day, coupled with over zealous neighbors and inspectors. Hek, I broke the tail from a monitor because it wouldn't let the lawnmower box close for delivery to Goodwill, and there may be a sliver or two of it still laying out there. "Six pallets of electronic scrap"? Could been anything from extension cords to transistor radios. Opinions are everyone's right to have, but when they are made from mere assumptions, or by overzealous authorities and tutti fruiti neighbors, they can also serve to get innocent people hurt. If you'll look, there is another thread with a very similar issue currently happening to an SMF member, simply because his neighbors don't like a recycler next door, and they got the TV news involved, slow news day?
lol just made a post about the sheriff coming today then the next post was this one.
we aparently dont have the whole story and probably won't ever have.
but under the new "patriot" laws and NDAA (National Defence Authorisation Act) maybe, aparently. and other like evidence is all they need these days. I know I feel much safer, don't you. }:<{( .
To each their own but I would reserve titles such as "scum of the world" for vices other than spraying a weed.Quote:
Originally Posted by scrapperben
Gee just thought people would want to be more cognizant about their practices. Never thought it would be such a lively discussion.
waiting to see how this one is going to play out, the soil samples wont lie
Yeah, In NC if you receive any government funding, even one penny, you have to use an R2 or E-steward approved recycler.
there have been several threads discussing business liability and requirements for a business. the general consensus of the forum and the majority of its members is that the laws and licensing requirements do not apply to them or to their 'scrapping' business. one of the ecyclers recently received a 5 year prison sentence for improperly disposing of crt's. courtesy of the state of mizzery. oregon, califorinia and arizona are even more stringent.
there will continue to be an increase in regulations, licensing and compliance. the states are broke. this business can used to generate revenue thru the licensing and collection of taxes. an increase in compliance will decrease the cost to the public of clean up from illegal waste disposal.
i expect to see federal regulations mandated to the states, within the next 5 years, that will completely change how this business operates and who will be allowed to operate. 95% of those currently ecycling will not be doing that in the near future. the feds are advocating a bond requirement. along with insurance, several epa licenses, minimum building size and storage requirements.
this particular subject should have been one of the first to be pinned to the top of the page.
How come its perfectly fine to landfill all of these monitors but it is illegal for us to process them for recycling? Think of all the electronics with mercury lead ect that get landfilled each year. I think the laws are wrong but thats just my 2 cents.
they must be doing something on a larger scale than what I do. because, whats the difference if I set a monitor out at my trash for pickup fully stripped vs. if I left all the stuff inside of it? Im not busting the glass so there is no law I'm breaking there IMO. folks throw tv's and monitors out all day long everywhere and thats not illegal so they must have been doing something to harm the environment.
I cant access the story to read all the details so I'm going on what I can see - that they were fined for improper disposal?
The investigation began in 2009 when the state of Missouri found the couple had six pallets of CRTs and improper storage of CRTs on their property. State made a follow-up visit within the next few weeks and the pallets were gone. The state also found broken CRT glass on the grounds. They were given a deadline of Feb 2010 to account for the proper disposal of the CRTs. They could not do so, and so in May 2010 the case was turned over to the state attorney general to compel them to account for the CRTs, stop processing any more CRTs, and pay a fine. In early September the Missouri AG announced that he obtained a judgement against them, $20,000. fine and they must not break any more environmental laws.Quote:
Originally Posted by newattitude
Technically, they were fined for violating hazmat laws via improper storage and improper disposal, although (as far as I can tell) the state has not announced how the Coffmans disposed of the CRTs.
An observation, not sure about this, but....cannot find that the AG ever said they had to stop their business, just implied that they had to follow all rules & regs.
They very well may have complied with the first complaint to the best of their abilities by loading them up and taken them in for legitimate recycling and had broken a single monitor and had missed cleaning up ALL the bits from it. (Not saying that is what happened, but it could have.) If they failed to document the proper disposal they would have no evidence to produce at any future hearing. Once compelled to produce evidence, they have to. Simply ignoring it gets the judgement against them as though they were in fact guilty of what they were accused of, the Judge has no choice.
Jerimiah makes a good point about documenting your loads. Better to have it and never need it than needing it and not having it. And yeah, the soil samples will tell the tale.
Thanks volvo.
So, what then is the proper way to store CRT's would be my next question? Is it because they had them stacked outside of their house? What are the laws on this does anyone know?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jghilino
Where I live, it is illegal for CRTs to be disposed of in a landfill. It's illegal for the trash pickup contractors to even pick them up. It's up to you to check the local laws to see if you are allowed to place them on the curb for trash pickup. Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking the law. Start by visiting the websites for your city, town, and county. That's where I found out about the laws in effect here.Quote:
Originally Posted by newattitude
billygoat, I totally understand that point but... if it were illegal to put them in the landfills wouldn't the trash haulers know not to even pick them up in the first place? Not everyone knows or is going to check those kinds of facts out so the next level of compliance would be the trash guys and gals no?
I agree completely with your view of the future of this business. what I disagree with is the fact it WILL happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by rbrooks715
and the few will hurt us all "never let a good crisis go to waste" we didn't build this great country on regulations for the purpose of generating revenue for the regulators, it was built on common sence and hard work. I believe in common education, morality and common sence. may be a certificate program of some type like a contractor made affordable for the smallest business. then if the owner violates the guidelines review the education requirements before they are allowed to continue business. the secound violation they are out of business, perminently.
But, I know that makes too much sence, and the gubment aint going to give up any opertunity to generate more and more and more revinue.
newattitude, I agree with you on both points. If it's illegal, they you can bet the trash haulers will know about it. Whether they comply or not is a different thing. You'd think that the munincipality or state would provide places to take them. New York state does, but I don't know about other places.
Or, ya know, maybe round up is just fine for a 62 year old Vietnam Vet that has severe back problems and can't bend over to "pull up a weed".Quote:
Originally Posted by scrapperben
I don't think my old man is a loser, or scum. Just sayin'.
Here in kansas city the major landfill is 500 feet from the river and its 1/2 mile upstream from the main city drinking water intake. I see people put out electronics in with there trash every week and it always gets picked up. Im just making the point that the liners they put in landfills do not 100% contain what goes into the landfills and that the liner will not last forever. Theres no escrap recycling centers here where people can drop off escrap for free. If somone would setup shop here in kansas city they would make a killing. I put adds out on cl and get about 10 emails a day from people that have escrap to unload, can pretty well take my pick.
Just like my city jghilino; the landfill sits right on top of, and upstream of our intake. Makes you wonder if they even want to test for fear what they may find. Never mind the 'grandfathered' sites along the river that have spewed god-knows-what for generations that would never pass the permitting stage if they tried to set up shop today.
ha, was right about to post 'probably some twats smashing cts with a sledge hammer on their front porchQuote:
Originally Posted by oldtoothlessbassmaster