CRT glass is the number one problem facing the electronics recycling industry.
CRT glass has high concentrations of lead, which is impregnated in the glass,
making separation of the lead from the glass a very difficult proposition.
There are two methods generally considered acceptable for the recycling of CRT glass:
glass-to-glass and glass-to-lead. Glass-to-lead recycling results in some lead being
reclaimed, but also produces a slag made up of leftover leaded glass and other contaminants.
The positive environmental effect of this is questionable.
Glass-to-glass recycling involves the separation and cleaning of the glass in
preparation for reintroduction to the CRT manufacturing process. While the
number of new CRT's being produced worldwide continues to decrease, the
percentage of recycled glass that can be used in the manufacturing process
continues to increase, so at this point there is still more demand for the
recycled glass than there is supply.
Currently, GRX sees glass-to-glass recycling as the best alternative. Because
of the potential worker-safety and environmental dangers inherent in processing
leaded glass, it is very important that the glass processor meets the highest
environmental, health and safety standards.
GRX has selected CRT Processing of Janesville, Wisconsin to process all of our
CRT glass. We have conducted thorough audits, including site visits, and have
found their operation to be exceptionally well run, with processes designed to
reduce and/or eliminate environmental, health and safety concerns. All glass is
processed at their Janesville facility, and the resulting product is furnace-ready
cullet. This product is then shipped to Asahi Glass, Samsung, or L.G. Phillips.
These three companies represent the highest standards in the CRT manufacturing
industry.
| 
Plastics are processed by Recovery Plastics International (RPI), a high tech
plastics recycler in Salt Lake City, UT. After color sorting, RPI performs size
reduction on the material and then uses a series of proprietary technologies to
separate the plastics into 6 different types. RPI's separation processes are so
sophisticated that less than 10% cannot be definitively identified by resin type.
The sorted plastic is then sent to a compounding company in West Virginia where
it is mixed with additives and virgin resins and reformed into raw material for
use by US-based manufacturers of a variety of plastic products, some for the
electronics industry.
Precious metal recovery from circuit boards is performed by Umicore, one of the
world's largest metals and materials corporations at its smelting operation in
Hoboken, Belgium. GRX's research shows that Umicore has a significantly better
energy-efficiency and environmental track record than North American metal
smelters and this is a key factor in GRX's selection of this downstream partner.
Recovered precious metals are sold to manufacturers in the EU and elsewhere.