Join ECS Refining at the 2nd Annual e-Waste Management Summit for an informative workshop titled “Recycler Selection, Export Monitoring, and Transparency” focused on the following topics:

• How OEMs can select the best-fitting recycler for their business needs
• How to create a criteria list for your company
• Minimize costs associated with selecting and managing your recycler
• Benchmark your recyclers with other recyclers serving your industry
• Transparent tracking of your recyclers and electronic-waste shipments

ECS is also exhibiting on May 1st and 2^nd and invites attendees to stop by for in depth discussions on OEM recycling and compliance needs.

“Selecting the right recycler is a challenge for OEMs, and determining the correct criteria is essential. The ECS sponsored Workshop A at the e-Waste Summit will provide an interactive forum for these key issues,” said Tom Hogye, Director of Business Management, ECS Refining. “Additionally, monitoring and transparency of recyclers is critical for OEMs which have their brands and reputation to protect. The good news is there really are effective solutions,and we look forward to discussing these in our workshop.”

ECS Refining is enjoying a succession of significant milestones in the past. Not only are we proud to showcase our state-of-the art Stockton,Ca and Mesquite Tx, recycling and end-of-life (EOL) facilities, we are e-Stewards Certified at two facilities, co-founders of the Coalition For American Electronics Recycling (CAER) which is spearheading federal legislation – the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (HR 2284/SB1270) that will restrict export of toxic electronic waste from the U.S. Additionally, it will spur expansion of the economy to provide tens of thousands of new jobs. We are also leveraging a new private equity investment for the rapid expansion of recycling and asset management services across the United States.

About ECS Refining
ECS Refining is a national electronic recycling, EOL and asset management solutions company with locations in Santa Clara, Stockton, and Gardena Ca; Medford, Oregon; and Mesquite and Terrell, Texas. For over 30 years, ECS has provided recovery and refining, asset management, and remarketing services to attain maximum recovery value for clients, and environmentally sustainable results. We provide recycling solutions for a wide variety of e-waste materials and are committed to applying smart and planet-friendly solutions for our customers. For more information about our operations and the latest news from ECS Refining visit www.ecsrefining.com.

ECS is e-Stewards Certified in Stockton, Ca and Terrill, TX facilities and was named one of the Fastest Growing Private Companies on the Inc. 500|5000 list as well as by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal Fast 51 in 2011, and is creator of the award winning electronic collection locator web site – ecollective (www.myecollective.com).

Hope Services, an organization that provides comprehensive services to more than 2,500 individuals with developmental disabilities, also collects e-waste from communities across California during the entire year. The proceeds generated from e-waste collection help fund the non-profit’s efforts while providing a much needed service – responsible electronics recycling. Hope Services is hosting several e-waste recycling events over the next few weeks, including an event in Monterey on April 28, events in Capitola and Santa Clara on May 5, and an event in Sunnyvale on May 12. For more info and a complete list of Hope Services’ e-waste events click here.

So now that Earth Day has passed, don’t lose your motivation to be green! Recycle your unwanted, obsolete electronics responsibly at one of these events or go to www.myecollective.com to find a year-round drop off location near you!

“With so many exciting opportunities in the electronics recycling, asset management and disposition (ITAD/ITAM) industries, we want to make sure we have the right resources in place to support our national expansion plans,” said Jim Taggart, Chief Executive Officer, ECS Refining. “This is the perfect timing to bring on investors who share our vision and enthusiasm to address these market needs with additional technical and sales resources.”

The Market Opportunity is Substantial: With electronic waste being produced at a seemingly exponential rate, responsible domestic electronics recycling is an imperative for our country.

Jim Taggart goes on to say… “with rising volumes of e-waste, advantageous legislation, and increasing green initiatives within our targeted customer audience, our business stands well-positioned to accelerate its growth by capitalizing on the proven business model we have created. We are well poised to rapidly grow both organically and through acquisitions.”

Responsible recycling is an increasing necessity and the expanding coalition membership roster proves that industry leaders agree.  Recently joining the alliance are the industry cornerstone leaders Waste Management Recycle America, North America’s leading provider of integrated environmental solutions and Alcoa, the world’s leading aluminum producer.  There are now 48 companies with facilities in 32 states backing the coalition which will better ensure the safe handling and recycling of e-waste in the U.S.  Responsible management of e-waste will create jobs and increase trade which this economy will benefit from.

Now it’s your turn to take action, visit the CAER website for more information about HR 2284/SB1270.

The Coalition for American Electronics Recycling represents U.S. companies (recyclers, enterprises, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other businesses) which embrace the reality that electronic recycling should be performed securely and sustainably, for the benefit of the American economy.

The Coalition is committed to growing an essential American industry with a proven capacity to manage the excessive volume of e-waste generated within our borders, creating good jobs and expanded trade. Another key purpose of the bill (HR 2284 / S1270) is to prohibit the export of certain types of hazardous, non-working electronics and e-waste from the U.S. to developing countries whose citizens are dealing with unsafe landfills and suboptimal situations where citizens are de-manufacturing e-waste in their own back yards.

what is happening is that the U.S. has an enormous e-waste problem. The U.S. is the largest innovator of electronic technology in the world. However, this also makes Americans the largest users and subsequently generators of e-waste in the world. New electronics now seem to have a useful life of only a year or so, so the e-waste problem is going to get worse before it gets better.

Unfortunately, the U.S. electronics recycling industry lacks a robust domestic infrastructure—and the jobs that come with it—because of unrestricted and unfair trade in electronic scrap with developing countries.

ECS Refining along with coalition partners is pushing the “Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, HR 2284 / S1270 which promotes fair and expanded trade in electronics. This enables American recyclers to rationalize new investments in plants and hire U.S. citizens to support a critical and growing American industry.

Stay tuned for more comments from Jim and Coalition progress!

CAER now includes 34 U.S. companies involved in all aspects of the domestic electronics recycling and disposition industry (ITAD), with operations in 31 states as well as the District of Columbia. Alliance members of CAER also supporting the legislation include Hewlett Packard, Dell, Apple, Samsung, Best Buy and LG Electronics.

The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (HR 2284/SB1270) would restrict toxic e-waste exports to developing countries that lack adequate safeguards for the environment and workers.

“We’re excited to see a rapid increase in the addition of electronics recycling, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and other industry leaders to our coalition,” said Jim Taggart, Chief Executive Officer, ECS Refining

For more information about HR 2284/SB1270, visit the CAER website,which includes links to the full text of each bill.

This is a waste of valuable precious materials that could otherwise be extracted and refined back to their purest form for new products.  Did you know one ton of circuit boards contains about 500 grams of gold? Unfortunately, consumers, businesses, and municipalities are throwing money away by not taking advantage of responsible recycling. And, the bad news is we still don’t understand the full effects this has on the environment.

The solution is to educate US citizens on this growing global problem and work with ethical e-Stewards Certified ® companies like ECS Refining featuring it’s award winning consumer web site – myecollective.  You can help change the shape of what matters most to you, our country, and the rest of our planet. Make sure you know the facts about ethical recycling and that you, your cities and schools, and local businesses work with recyclers that ensure in no electronics are sent to landfill or sent overseas.

150 of ECS Refining’s current workforce at the Santa Clara plant will be offered the opportunity to move to the new Stockton facility, which will ramp up to full operation over the next few months. The company’s current facilities in Santa Clara will continue as ECS Refining’s corporate headquarters and the western region’s base location for the processing of solar panels, resale operations, and precious metals recovery, with the possibility of expansion of these operations.

It’s been just three months since we announced the acquisition of our 270,000 square-foot industrial facility in Stockton, California. You can read our initial blog post announcement here. In today’s post, part of a continuing series of posts about the creation of our new electronics recycling plant, we take a look at the progress we’ve made and the phases that lie ahead.

The realtor hands you the keys and says “congratulations!” That moment always marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another. This was certainly the case for us back in March as we took ownership of 2222 S. Sinclair Avenue, Stockton, California. Stockton is an ideal location for our primary West Coast electronics recycling operations. We’ve just been given the official green light by the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control to begin operations, which means we can now start Phase 2 of our move-in. Let’s review the progress thus far…

A great location and ideally suited to its new role

The Stockton facility was a former metal-stamping plant for the automotive industry and is superb for its intended function as the primary receiving and processing facility for the country’s largest and most efficient electronics recycling operation. It’s centrally located for all our customers located in California, Nevada and Oregon, and has excellent highway access. Additionally, we even have railway access, which will be extremely useful once we have the plant operating at full bore. Speaking of which, the plant is big enough to take us right through to 25 million pounds of e-waste per month, with all operations and storage under one roof. There’s nothing like this here in the United States and we’re very excited about the potential it offers for our OEM, VAR, and recycler customers and partners.

Initial preparations

As soon as we took possession of the Stockton plant, we began Phase 1 of the project: readying the plant for its most important occupants — people. Due to its previous life as a manufacturing facility, the building itself is well-suited to its new role as a recycling plant. It has excellent office spaces, a large break room, locker rooms with showers and all the amenities you’d expect in a modern office. The plant area itself is also well above what you might expect in the recycling industry. It’s completely enclosed and well insulated, which means our employees on the lines will be working in a safe, well-lit environment. It also has upgraded electrical and compressed-air systems, and even massive overhead industrial bridge cranes. After moving out all of the remnant foundations of its previous machinery, we began work on upgrading the receiving dock to make it secure. This is extremely important for our enterprise and VAR customers, since this is an area where all in-bound electronics, some of which contain sensitive information, will be stored prior to processing.

Next steps: getting the lines up and running

In our next blog post, we’ll take a look at Phase 2 of the project, in which we ready the CRT and CPU dismantling operations.