Oregon Recycling Program Starts Early – MRM and CRT Processing Announce Launch of New Recycling Program

PORTLAND, OR .– Based on preliminary approval by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality of its new state-wide Oregon program, the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company, LLC (“MRM”) and CRT Processing, LLC, today announced the early start-up of the MRM Group Manufacturer Plan, three months in advance of the state-mandated start-up date.



Working with 21 leading electronics manufacturers, MRM is scheduled to operate the largest electronics recycling program in Oregon. The first three months of the program’s operation will be used to test its performance, and will be funded by Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba and CRT Processing. Beginning in January 2009, financing for the program will come from the 21 participating manufacturers.



“MRM is pleased to be teaming up with CRT Processing to offer the highest level of electronic product recycling in Oregon,” said David Thompson, President, MRM. “This new program will make it easy for consumers to recycle their used electronics products, and for the manufacturers involved to operate a cost-effective recycling service,” he said. In September 2007, Panasonic Corporation of North America, Sharp Electronics Corporation, and Toshiba America Consumer Products, LLC, jointly formed MRM to manage recycling programs on behalf of electronics manufacturers.



“CRT Processing is excited to work with MRM and our collection partners to service the recycling needs in Oregon,” stated Jim Cornwell, President of CRT Processing. “CRT Processing’s’ ‘Glass to Clean Glass’ technology will give obsolete televisions and monitors a new life while providing jobs to the city of Clackamas.” CRT Processing is a leading recycler of electronic products, and is one of the few recyclers with the ability to clean CRT (cathode ray tube) glass in the United States to produce high-quality, furnace-ready cullet product, thereby avoiding the export of CRT glass for cleaning overseas.



Oregon state law requires manufacturers of certain electronic products (computers, monitors, laptops and TVs) generated by Oregon households and small businesses and organizations to provide free and convenient recycling services starting January 1, 2009. The law permits manufacturers to work collaboratively to address the challenge of ‘e-waste’ (electronic waste) recycling.



Representative Jackie Dingfelder, the author of Oregon’s e-waste legislation, said, “I’m really pleased to see that MRM and CRT Processing are ready to go and can start recycling items even before the effective date of Oregon’s e-waste law. My hope is that this is just the beginning in a long series of successes, both for these companies and for our e-waste law"



The Pacific Northwest’s largest non-profit recycler, Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette (GICW), will partner with CRT Processing in the new MRM program. Utilizing its existing network of 38 stores and 58 donation centers, Goodwill will accept all electronics free of charge and transport the products to CRT’s Clackamas location.



“From our first meetings with Oregon DEQ [Department of Environmental Quality] and other organizations, MRM and CRT Processing showed the highest level of concern for the environment and the goals of the Oregon law,” said GICW Executive Transportation Manager Bill Goman. “Goodwill shares the same vision of a cleaner environment.”



MRM already operates in Minnesota and is in the process of developing collection and recycling programs in other states and jurisdictions, including Connecticut, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York City, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. “MRM looks forward to working with officials in these areas, and with the manufacturing community, to develop and operate practical and efficient recycling programs that work conveniently and reliably for both consumers and manufacturers,” said Thompson. “Cost-effective and environmentally sound recycling is central to increasing the long-term environmental sustainability of the electronics industry. This new Oregon program reflects the MRM venture partners’ continued commitment to environmental responsibility.”