By law, they are required to hang on to all of those recalled toys until they can be tested for toxin levels…to get a final assessment on where and how they can be disposed.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required companies to test their returned products for an aggregate level of lead to determine a disposal plan. If the tests came in at higher than five parts per million, companies were required to take extra steps to make sure the lead would not contaminate the environment. If the average was under that level, the toys could go in normal landfills.
If not…well there seem to be a variety of plans:
Mattel said it would try to recycle parts, such as pieces of the Polly Pocket magnetic toys, safely into items like park benches.
One company that recalled 350,000 lead-tainted journals and bookmarks plans to burn them in an incinerator.
Toy makers are investigating whether they need to treat their tainted products with stabilization chemicals or if they must seal the toys in giant polyethylene bags
I can picture it in my mind. Long, heavily attended meetings at toy company headquarters, the participants from various different departments are sitting around a conference table tossing out creative, often ridiculous, ideas for disposal. In the meantime the toys sit in warehouses and will for quite awhile.
Manufacturers caught up in multi million unit recalls must hang onto these tainted toys while they fight off (multi-million dollar) lawsuits. This of course will take years.
Perhaps some toys will accidentally slip back out onto store shelves. Perhaps some will be shipped overseas
Companies are allowed to export products they recall to resell in other countries, if the recall is based on a voluntary standard. Companies can not export toys with lead paint, since it was banned on toys in the United States . But they can export lead jewelry and some of the metal trinkets that had been part of recent recalls.
Oh and by the way…
American companies face strict regulations for disposing of recalled toys, but they are only responsible for the toys that show up. The other products left out there - and in many cases, that is more than 80 percent - fall out of their purview, a crack in the recall system that consumer advocates say leaves a giant question mark over the trail of recalled toys.
In other words…it’s not illegal for someone to sell lead tainted toys at their next garage sale, on E-bay or on Craig’s List –unethical, often unintentional but, not illegal.
Despite the best efforts of the big resale sites, E-bay and Craig’s List , the diligence of parents and the publicity on this issue, I’m assuming toxic toys will be with us for quite awhile. This makes me more determined than ever to stick with American and European made brands I can trust.
A story that seems to have hit the major business press today concerns the fate of all of those recalled toys. Funny, my friends and I have been wondering about them for weeks.It seems the various companies involved in the recalls have different strategies.
By law, they are required to hang on to all of those recalled toys until they can be tested for toxin levels…to get a final assessment on where and how they can be disposed.
TheIf not…well there seem to be a variety of plans:
Mattel said it would try to recycle parts, such as pieces of the Polly Pocket magnetic toys, safely into items like park benches.
One company that recalled 350,000 lead-tainted journals and bookmarks plans to burn them in an incinerator.
Toy makers are investigating whether they need to treat their tainted products with stabilization chemicals or if they must seal the toys in giant polyethylene bags
I can picture it in my mind. Long, heavily attended meetings at toy company headquarters, the participants from various different departments are sitting around a conference table tossing out creative, often ridiculous, ideas for disposal. In the meantime the toys sit in warehouses and will for quite awhile.
Manufacturers caught up in multi million unit recalls must hang onto these tainted toys while they fight off (multi-million dollar) lawsuits. This of course will take years.
Perhaps some toys will accidentally slip back out onto store shelves. Perhaps some will be shipped overseas
Companies are allowed to export products they recall to resell in other countries, if the recall is based on a voluntary standard. Companies can not export toys with lead paint, since it was banned on toys in the United States . But they can export lead jewelry and some of the metal trinkets that had been part of recent recalls.
Oh and by the way…
American companies face strict regulations for disposing of recalled toys, but they are only responsible for the toys that show up. The other products left out there - and in many cases, that is more than 80 percent - fall out of their purview, a crack in the recall system that consumer advocates say leaves a giant question mark over the trail of recalled toys.
In other words…it’s not illegal for someone to sell lead tainted toys at their next garage sale, on E-bay or on Craig’s List –unethical, often unintentional but, not illegal.
Despite the best efforts of the big resale sites, E-bay and Craig’s List , the diligence of parents and the publicity on this issue, I’m assuming toxic toys will be with us for quite awhile. This makes me more determined than ever to stick with American and European made brands I can trust.