Border Chemical Import-Export News

Perfect "Triple bottom line" solution to mounting e-waste problem
Thursday, May 08, 2008-- 5th annual International Computer Refurbishers'Summit brought together international leaders in refurbishing, redistribution,emarketing and recycling of surplus and obsolete IT. Professionals from around the globe who specialize in the re-use of technology agreed that the focus on environmental, social and economic impacts of reuse on a global scale made this Summit a success. -- (full text)
[Canada NewsWire]

New chemicals agency expands its REACH
Thursday, May 08, 2008-- The Helsinki-based European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will take over enforcement of the REACH legislation from June 1. REACH, an EU regulation dealing with the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances, came into force last June. The ECHA will be headed by Belgian Geert Dancet, who has served as the interim executive director since last June. -- (full text)
[Environmental Data Interactive - UK]

Motorola Releases 2007 CSR Report, Reclassification Doubles Haz Waste
Thursday, May 08, 2008-- In 2007, Motorola produced 670 tonnes of hazardous waste compared to 319 tonnes in 2005. The company says that the increase is due to the reclassification of electronics waste from nonhazardous to hazardous waste in China and Malaysia. -- (full text)
[Environmental Leader - Fort Collins, CO]

The Global Pesticide Pushers in Latin America
Thursday, April 24, 2008-- Multinational pesticide corporations headquartered in the Global North are expanding their sales of some of the most dangerous chemicals in Latin America-chemicals known to cause a plethora of health problems, including cancers and birth defects. This is happening even as U.S. and E.U. laws have banned or severely restricted many of the pesticides and UN conventions have come into force. -- (full text)
[RedOrbit - Dallas, TX]

The new EU Chemicals Legislation  REACH
Tuesday, April 01, 2008-- The new European Chemicals regulation (REACH) was adopted in December 2006. REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. The organization entered into force on June 1. Enterprises, which manufacture or import more than one ton of a chemical substance / article per year, will be required to register it in a central database administered by the new EU Chemicals Agency. The Agency will provide IT tools and guidance and Member States will offer helpdesk assistance to the impacted companies -- (full text)
[Daily Mirror - Colombo, Western, Sri Lanka]

Global impact of environmental legislations in 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008-- Once there was only the RoHS Directive in the European Union (EU) causing concerns for the design engineer community. Today, several other legislations provide challenges to the industry and often impact the design phase of a product. Many of these directives are driven from Europe, but the world now seems to be a smaller place when it comes to tackling environmental issues with China, Korea, Australia, North America and, to a lesser extent, India all considering their own approaches to restricting hazardous substances and more efficient ways of recycling -- (full text)
[ECN Asia - Singapore]