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"To address the information gap on the environmental impacts of leaded and lead-free solders, EPA's DfE Program entered into a voluntary partnership with representatives of the electronics industry and other interested parties to evaluate the environmental impacts of tin-lead and lead-free solders (see the Partners page of this website for more information on project partners). The partnership used a life-cycle assessment approach to examine the impacts of tin-lead, tin-copper, tin-silver-copper, and tin-silver-copper-bismuth solders. " Site includes general project information, milestones, publications and a list of partners.

GRAVITA EXIM Ltd. (World Leader in Lead Battery Recycling) Forms Joint Venture with AUSMELT Ltd. GRAVITA Exim Ltd. (Leading Lead Battery Recycling), the technical consultancy & projects arm of GRAVITA Group has entered into a JOINT VENTURE with an Australian giant in the same field, AUSMELT Ltd.

"New "Liquid Magnet" Solder Could Be Lead-Free Alternative For Electronics"

"Characterization of Lead Leachability From Cathode Ray Tubes Using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure"; Dec. 1999; Timothy G. Townsend, Stephen Musson, Yong-Chul Jang; Il-Hyun Chung; Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

"IF YOU are tossing your mobile phones and laptops into the trash, know this: They could end up harming your health and the environment. Said Associate Professor Ting Yen Peng of the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: "These electronic devices contain a variety of hazardous substances such as lead and mercury."

iGo, a leading provider of portable power management, has made a pledge to support and maintain the iGo Recycles program in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency's Plug-in to eCycling. The program is a voluntary partnership between the EPA and electronics manufacturers to offer household consumers more opportunities to donate or recycle their used electronics.

CEH report, Oct. 2006. In the past few years, the storm of complaints about UNICOR's recycling program from prisoners, prison guards, and others has brought these hidden sweatshops into public view. Since 1994, UNICOR has built a lucrative business that employs prisoners to recycle electronic waste (e-waste). A massive array of ewaste is largely hidden from view, as are the workers who handle the waste. Over 100,000 computers become obsolete in the U.S. every day. E-waste includes computers, personal digital assistants, TVs, and other electronic devices. E-waste is a doubleedged sword: it is rich in precious materials that can be recycled, but it also contains a cocktail of hazardous chemicals such as lead, mercury, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and cadmium. This report examines the e-waste recycling programs run by Federal Prison Industries (FPI), a government-owned corporation that does business under the trade name UNICOR.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have introduced legislation that would promote research and development of programs to improve the recycling of electronic equipment. The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act would provide research grants to find ways to deal with electronic waste, much of which contains hazardous materials including lead and cadmium.

Waste & Recycling News, 5/28/09. Texas Gov. Rick Perry will have on his desk a bill requiring television manufacturers to provide Texas residents with free and convenient recycling for their old units. Proponents of the bill say it will help keep the 4 to 8 pounds of lead in cathode-ray tube televisions and the mercury in flat-screen TVs out of the environment. Televisions also contain brominated fire retardants and other hazardous chemicals.

Living in an age of disposability has led many durable goods manufacturers to explore ways of reducing the environmental footprint their products leave during their manufacturing process and throughout their lifecycle. The sheer volume of mobile phones produced annually and the propensity of users to chase mobile technology trends leads to an average replacement cycle of between 12 and 18 months, bringing special attention to the greening efforts of mobile device manufacturers. As consumer awareness and environmental legislation continue to evolve, handset vendors are developing their corporate responsibility initiatives to develop new business practices aimed at improving the compliance and environmental sustainability of their handsets. The European commission and industry-led initiatives have made great progress in developing a set of requirements and goals for developing sustainable business practices across the entire life cycle of handset production, distribution, use and disposal. This study identifies and explores key global handset initiatives and the handsets that are coming to market as a result of vendors' efforts to minimize their environmental impact. It also offers an analysis of US consumer interest, awareness and preferences of green handset vendor initiatives. Available for purchase from ABI Research at this URL.

UK: The Environment Agency is to lead a new international crime group as part of Interpol to help tackle illegal dumping of electrical waste on developing countries. The Interpol Global Crime Group is a worldwide intelligence-led operation which includes environmental crime investigators in the United States and Europe such as the US Environmental Protection Agency. The group will investigate links between organised criminal networks and the "waste tourists" travelling to countries like Britain to arrange the export of waste to developing countries.

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