The Washington Department of Ecology issued a $444,000 fine Thursday to Total Reclaim, the state’s largest electronic waste recycler.
That follows an investigation by the Basel Action Network that was documented EarthFix, which revealed that the company had been secretly sending TVs and other old electronics across the Pacific to be dealt with in hazardous, open-air junk heaps in Hong Kong instead of dealing with the toxic waste at an approved facility in the United States — a condition of its certification as a green recycler.
Workerswho processed the old monitors and TVs at those Hong Kong scrapyards may have been exposed to lead, mercury and other toxic components of old electronics.
“This was an egregious violation of the public trust,” said Andrew Wineke, spokesperson for the Department of Ecology. “This was a respected recycling company that knew what it was doing was wrong.”
Related: The Circuit: Tracking America's Electronic Waste
The company has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal. The money will go into the state general fund.
“Something like this is a wakeup call and we’ve been talking with the electronic manufacturers association and recyclers to see what we can do to strengthen the system,” Wineke said. “We’re going to be keeping a close eye going forward.”
Until its e-waste-dumping tactics were exposed Total Reclaim accounted for more than 50 percent of all electronics recycling in Washington. Customers included the City of Seattle, King County, Boeing and the University of Washington. It was also one of the larger recyclers operating in Oregon.
Oregon regulators have asked the state Department of Justice to open an investigation into whether Total Reclaim violated consumer protection laws.
There are seven electronics recycling companies in Washington. The Department of Ecology recommends that people recycle TVs, monitors, computers and other electronics for free at participating
locations. For questions about where other items can be recycled, call or visit
.
Jim Puckett discovers boxes bearing Total Reclaim’s logos in an e-waste dismantling facility in rural Hong Kong.
Katie Campbell / KCTS/EarthFix
Total Reclaim has previously admitted to sending their e-waste to Hong Kong. The company declined to comment when contacted for this story.
The company had been sending e-waste overseas for seven years, Ecology said.
Correction: Sept. 2, 2016. An earlier version of this story did not accurately characterize Total Reclaim's current vendor status with some governmental agencies.