By Darren Smith, Weekend contributor
An environmental advocacy group alleges that a Seattle recycling company disposed of electronics in overseas nations without following contractually mandated recycling practices. Seattle based “Total Reclaim” now faces investigation by the Washington State Department of Ecology and the potential loss of state contracts.
Environment NGO “Basel Action Network” initiated a two-year investigation of recycling methods by using, among others things, GPS transponders in two hundred devices hidden in recycled items dropped off at recycling locations throughout the United States. BAN then tracked the devices to record their migration and if the material did in-fact arrive at large recycling locations.
Reportedly thirty percent of electronic recyclables instead arrived in foreign nations such as Kenya, Hong Kong and Mexico; locations having questionable environmental practices.