Mattel’s challenge: Disposing of recalled toys

Scott Wolfson, a spokesman at the CPSC, said that a recalled product like a lead-laced toy cannot be exported for resale.

Disposal sometimes is determined as part of a company’s recall negotiations with the agency, but ultimately must be in accordance with state and federal environmental laws, he said.

Wolfson said he could not discuss whether the agency entered into any specific arrangements with Mattel on how it should handle its inventory of recalled products.

For toys that don’t pose an environmental hazard, such as the recalled magnetic toys, a manufacturer has more leeway. A company may even seek to ship the items for sale abroad.

“Some companies do request to re-export their products to another country,” Wolfson said.

In such cases, the manufacturers are required to tell the CPSC, which alerts the country where the product is slated to go and gives them the opportunity to deny entry.

Some consumer watchdogs believe that many parents may find returning a toy and waiting for a voucher a cumbersome process and opt instead to simply throw out the dangerous toys.

Perry Gottesfeld, executive director of Occupational Knowledge International, a San Francisco-based nonprofit group that tracks environmental health issues, worried that “ultimately, this problem is also creating a landfill problem because most of these products are not likely to be captured by manufacturers,” Gottesfeld said.

Manufacturers appear to be challenged by how they’re going to handle such a massive recall.

Asked what the company plans to do with the recalled toys, Jules Andres, a Mattel spokeswoman, said it was working on a “responsible approach,” but could not provide further details.

Wayne Charness, a spokesman at Hasbro, which recalled faulty Easy Bake ovens this year from China, made it clear that he wants customers to bring the defective products back so they can crush them.

He declined to comment on how many have been returned so far.

Nancy Davies, a spokeswoman for RC2, said that since Aug.8, RC2 has recovered 56 percent of the toys included in its June 13 recall. The company recalled 1.5 million toys in North America.

“We are still working with the CPSC to determine the best method of disposal for the recalled products,” she said. “Once that is determined, the company will dispose of the potentially unsafe toys.”

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