News Release
Plastics News.com/China
February 2007

Opinion: New approach may benefit electronics recyclers

By Steve Toloken Plastics News Correspondent

GUANGZHOU, CHINA (February 6, 2007) -- Too much of China’s electronics recycling is done in ways that aren’t good for the people doing it nor for the environment. Groups like the Basel Action Network and Greenpeace have documented how recycling plants will burn plastic openly to get at more valuable materials, or how farmers will run primitive backyard recycling operations to melt circuit boards, all to bring in extra money.

But on a recent visit to a factory in Guangzhou, I was given an interesting glimpse into what could be a more environmentally sustainable approach. There, a joint venture between U.S. electronics waste recycler MBA Polymers Inc. and steel recycler Guangzhou Iron & Steel Enterprises (GISE) is about one year into operation. Rather than cheap labor, it’s using the latest technology to mine a stream of ground up plastic and other materials from things like computers and kitchen appliances and extract valuable ABS, high-impact polystyrene and polypropylene resins.

Contrast that with the local recycling operations. According to wire reports, government officials in Guangdong province, where Guangzhou is located, started an investigation January 24 into whether plastic recycling factories were releasing chemicals into rivers or forcing their US$100 (776 yuan) a month employees to breathe hazardous fumes.

The US$12 million (93 million yuan) MBA-GISE plant is the first commercial venture for Richmond, California based MBA, which has used funding from private investors like GE Plastics and electronics contract manufacturer Flextronics International Ltd., along with money from the U.S. government, to develop its technology and provide seed capital. MBA has gotten attention: It was profiled by Inc. magazine in a 2002 series on innovative companies.

The technology’s not a panacea for environmental problems from Chinese recycling, particularly if, as BAN and Greenpeace report, some Chinese farmers feel they have no other way to make ends meet.

On the other hand, though, China’s government is talking like it wants more sustainable development.

That makes MBA’s presence there interesting. During a recent tour of the plant, managers told me they are happy with how things have gone so far, but say they are still fine tuning.

There are challenges relying on someone else’s trash as your raw material.

MBA-GISE, for example, has a radiation detector to screen incoming loads, although it has yet to find any contamination.

As well, there are more subtle challenges. The plant can wind up with waste plastic from consumer products made five or 10 years ago, which may contain additives that have since been declared environmental contaminants, like brominated flame retardants.

Ultimately, the operation wants to sell its material to demanding users like GE Plastics (which has a plant next door to MBA in Guangzhou) or Flextronics. It’s not there yet, although officials feel it’s only a matter of time and expect to make significant progress this year.

“The economics are improving,” said Darren Arola, global director of product development and sales for MBA. But he added, “they are not where we want them to be.”

MBA relies heavily on government-mandated collection programs for electronic waste, and the plant in Guangzhou was built partly with Japan’s extensive e-waste recycling systems in mind. Its second plant is going up in Europe, where there is also a legislative push.

Given that China is considering similar legislation, it seems likely that there’s going to be more use for MBA’s approach, rather than less.

Steve Toloken is a Plastics News correspondent based in Hong Kong.

Entire contents copyright 2007 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

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