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Owner Of EarthEcycle Defends Company, Self

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Jun 8, 2009 8:52 pm US/Eastern

Owner Of EarthEcycle Defends Company, Self

Reporting
Andy Sheehan
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Jeff Nixon is lord of some two million pounds of abandoned electronic equipment piled up in a Monroeville warehouse.

But where we see junk he sees dollars signs.

"All of it," he says. "All of this has value. In fact, the entire contents of this warehouse at two million pounds is over $400,000."

But Nixon's stated aim of paying local charities to gather the waste and then recycling it has come under fire -- with allegations that it might end up in remote places in China where so-called e-waste has been dumped in toxic junkyards, polluting streams and ground water with lead and toxic chemicals.

"There have been no facts to the allegations," Nixon says. "None. Nothing wrong has been done anywhere. It's all hearsay."

Last week -- after a Seattle-based environmental group contacted officials in Hong Kong about their concerns that Nixon's waste was to be dumped in China.

Hong Kong then denied entry to six ships carrying the material.

Sheehan: "You sent it to Hong Kong. Hong Kong said, 'We don't want it' and sent it back."

Nixon: "Hong Kong didn't say they didn't want it. We contacted them and warned them that it may not be going to the proper buyer."

Nixon says that when suspicions arose, he himself contacted Hong Kong and asked that the shipments be returned.

Sheehan: "You were to vouchsafe whether this was going to be properly handled once it got overseas."

Nixon: "Correct. And we did our due diligence and after the fact we found out that part of the downstream might not have been proper."

Both the Westmoreland County and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Societies collected the unused equipment in return for $10,000 for every 100,000 pounds.

They've begun getting those checks -- and for now -- trust Nixon on the other issues.

"At this point in time," says Director Lee Nesler, "my benefit of the doubt is going towards the agreement that I have with EarthEcycle and the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society that these recyclables will be used in respectful manner."

Sheehan: "Do you plan to do more events here?"

Nixon: "Absolutely yes. We're not stopping here."

Sheehan: "And do you believe that your reputation has been sullied and people won't deal with you any more?"

Nixon: "I think eventually the truth will come out and people will be educated that the stuff has value, and it's going to be properly recycled."

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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