Dive Brief:
- Closed Loop Refining and Recovery, an outlet for cathode ray tube glass (CRT), let go of its R2 certification in Arizona and Ohio where it has been operating, claiming this was an elected choice. But Paul Burck, the president of R2-approved auditing firm Orion which audited Closed Loop, told Resource Recycling that the company had several nonconformances at both its Arizona and Ohio facilities, and did not address the issues at either location.
- Orion stated concern about the volume of CRT glass the company stored and that it had no furnace to process it. Arizona Department of Environmental Quality records show Closed Loop reported holding more than 47.5 million pounds of leaded CRT glass in Phoenix as of Dec. 31, 2015 and the company received a notice of violation over its operations in October 2014 tied to storage, labeling and leaded-glass accumulation procedures.
- SERI, which administers the R2 certification, has called on Closed Loop to remove the R2 logo from its company website.
Dive Insight:
The handling of CRT raises critical safety issues, particularly tied to the extraction of lead. Some states like Vermont require all e-waste contractors to be certified before disposing handling CRT, and furnaces that effectively and sustainably handle this waste are important.
John Lingelbach, SERI’s executive director, said Orion’s actions come as no surprise and that the organization supports the auditors in their conclusions.
"For some time now, SERI has been monitoring both of Closed Loop’s facilities and communicating with the company, Arizona DEQ, and Orion," he said to Resource Recycling.
Closed Loop CFO Brent Benham said the company is now in compliance in Arizona. "...We're processing and shipping off," he said to Resource Recycling, "and we have customers and markets."
Still there is question as to the current status of the glass and how it will be managed moving forward while the company has a history of violations and now is operating without certification.
