If People Only Knew

In the field of air and water pollution control equipment, over the years I’ve assisted many companies in lowering emission rates and/or achieving compliance with air quality standards. As a consultant, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of players in the metals processing industry, everything from lead, copper and aluminum smelters to facilities that deal with the remediation of lead and acid in batteries. Most of my experiences stem from the Southern California area, which has the country’s most stringent environmental regulations.

Over the years, I've often thought, I wish people understood how poor a job some companies in the electronic waste industry do in meeting environmental obligations. I’m talking about companies that are themselves in the environmental business, after all! If clients really understood how bad some of these computer recycling practices are, most presumably would not continue doing business with these firms.

Take one of our competitors (a company that shall remain nameless), for example. Not long ago, I read the company’s environmental regulatory compliance marketing material, on how electronics recycling is performed, reclaiming copper-based alloys and other precious metals. The company claimed an enormous processing capacity, boasting that it was the biggest in the world.

That prompted my curiosity. So, understanding their underlying process, I calculated the company's lead emissions at its main plant by assembling and cross-referencing emission data from publicly available sources, including the EPA website. What I found left me shaking my head. The emissions were appalling. So while it was selling environmentally responsible services, at the same time, it was emitting into the atmosphere so much lead, volatile compounds and particulate matter that, to my way of thinking anyway, it essentially canceled out all its work.

Unfortunately, this company isn't the only offender. The loopholes in environmental regulations in this field are a significant part of the problem, and would surprise most average people. While the Environmental Protection Agency stringently regulates emissions of greenhouse gases and of lead at plants built after its governing regulations first took effect, some of the worst environmental offenders in this country escape accountability through a gaping technicality. If their plants were built before the law took effect, and haven't subsequently added a significant new process, they can essentially continue to operate without having to meet what are called Toxic Best Available Control Technology practices (TBACT). Thus, they’re allowed to operate both at a significantly lower cost, relative to most competitors, as well as at the expense of the environment.

Of course, we don’t spend too much time at Redemtech dwelling on unfair business practices or competitive disadvantages. Instead, we try to keep the focus on doing things the right way, with the right processes, while seeking clients that are similarly focused on operating in the most environmentally and socially responsible way they can, throughout their entire supply chain. We're proud to take the high road. After all, we think the bad behavior of others mostly represents a market opportunity for us.