E-Waste

Share

Vermont Agency of Natural Resources reports a successful first year for Vermont's E-waste recycling program, collecting 3.4 million pounds of electronic devices, or 5.5 lbs per capita. These include devices such  as computers, laptops, monitors, printers, and televisions.  

Under Vermont’s E-waste law, electronics manufacturers are required  to participate in the state plan or their individual plan. If the manufacturer is participating in the state plan, the manufacturer must pay a registration fee and implementation fee to the Agency of Natural Resources, which is responsible for administering the standard plan.

Since July 1, 2011,  any household, charity, school districts, or small business (with 10 or fewer employees) can recycle e-waste for free at the more than 90 permanent collection sites across the state.

The report also included recommendations on how to improve the program.
 

Learn more about our efforts to support e-waste laws. Please support our work on e-waste and make a tax-deductible donation today.

Share

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) reported a 7% gain in electronic devices collected in 2011 from the previous year. In 2011,  25.9 million pounds of unwanted computers, monitors and televisions were collected, exceeding the statewide goal of 23 million.  The 25.9 million pounds of electronics represents 6.71 pounds per resident.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed Oregon's e-waste bill into law in 2007. The law requires electronics manufacturers to fund Oregon E-Cycles program by paying fees to the state while the state's DEQ administers the program,  and sets collection goals each year. For 2012, the DEQ has set a goal of 27.1 million pounds for 2012, or 7.1 pounds per resident.

The Oregon e-waste law has created a stable recycling infrastructure with more than 220 collection sites and additional events statewide.

Learn more about our efforts to support e-waste laws. Please support our work on e-waste and make a tax-deductible donation today.

Colorado joins 17 other states that have passed laws addressing the emerging problem of electronic waste in landfills. Starting July 1, 2013,  Coloradans will no longer be able to dispose of their electronic equipment and gadgets in landfills.

As quoted in the Pueblo Chieftain,  Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, one of the bill sponsors said: "the same items in electronics that hold value when recycled pose serious environmental risks when left to decay and seep carcinogens into the soil."

Not only will the law protect public health and the environment, this policy will also help increase the electronic recycling sector in the state.  According to  Marjorie Griek, executive director of the Colorado Association for Recycling.

“It means jobs,” she said. “It’s economic development, and it means less toxics in our landfills.”

See if your state has a recycling law.

Share

Staples has teamed up with Hewlett-Packard to offer free electronics recycling for all brands of office electronics at Staples stores nationwide.

Customers can recycle computers, monitors, printers, mice, keyboards, shredders, mobile phones, GPS devices, digital music players, camcorders and digital cameras at Staples stores, regardless of brand or where it was purchased.

A certified e-Stewards or R2 recycler will collect the materials and have it transported to one of its processing facilities.

View the press release.

Learn more about our efforts to support e-waste laws. Please support our work on e-waste and make a tax-deductible donation today.

Share

The US EPA is considering revising their export provision for Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) rule to require exporters to submit annual reports.

Cathode ray tubes are found in televisions and computer monitors and are among the most hazardous part of electronic waste. Unscrupulous recyclers have been taking advantage of the lax CRT export rules. US EPA is finally stepping up the reporting requirement to obtain additional information in order to better ensure their proper management.

The proposed revision would require any company exporting cathode ray tubes to give the agency notice of the shipment. Currently, exporters only notify US EPA about planned exports. However, there is currently no requirement to subsequently report the quantity of CRTs that were actually exported during the time period specified in the notice. 

US EPA estimates that the cost of record keeping and reporting would be $7,300 to $11,500 per year for cathode ray tube exporters. US EPA is collecting comments on the proposal.

While this small step will help to document the flow of e-waste exports to other countries, the strongest solution can be found in the federal bill currently in both houses of Congress. The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (RERA) would restrict the export of toxic e-waste (including that coming from the federal government) to developing countries.

Share

Louisiana has a bill pending in the legislature that would create a recycling program for Louisiana and prohibit disposal of e-waste in the landfill.

Senate Bill 450 requires the Department of Environmental Quality to adopt a plan for the recycling of electronics by March 10, 2014. It would also prohibit the disposal of various electronic items in landfills. These include:  computers, computer peripherals, monitors, cathode ray tubes, televisions, printers, fax machines, DVD players, stereo equipment, power supply cables and personal electronics such as music players, game consoles and cell phones.

The bill has been sent to a committee on Environmental Quality. If passed, the ban would be effective on Aug. 1. 

See what else is happening in other states with e-waste.

Learn more about our efforts to support e-waste laws. Please support our work on e-waste and make a tax-deductible donation today.

Share

US General Services Administrator recently announced new guidelines banning all federal agencies from disposing of electronic waste in landfills. 

GSA plans to issue regulations banning disposal of electronic waste in landfills. As a step toward the requirement, GSA told agencies in a governmentwide bulletin last week they should not throw out old electronic equipment but instead recycle or find a way to reuse it. 

Federal agencies will have to do their best to reuse the electronics first — by selling or donating those products to schools or local governments — before recycling. When reuse is not an option, federal agencies are directed to send electronics to certified recyclers, third-party certified e-waste recyclers—under R2 or eStewards— creating more opportunities for the e-waste industry.

“The federal government as a whole is the nation’s largest consumer of electronics, and through this policy it will now be a more responsible user of electronics,” said Administrator Martha Johnson. “We are ensuring that electronics from federal agencies will be reused or sent to certified e-waste recycling plants. These steps are protecting human health and the environment, while supporting jobs."

Supporting domestic jobs is the premise for two bills in Congress that would ban the export of e-waste to other countries. 

Share

Colorado state lawmakers are contemplating banning certain types of electronic devices from landfills, in order to promote recycling of old electronics.

The Colorado Senate passed SB 133 yesterday, a measure that would ban electronics from being placed in solid waste landfills starting July 1, 2013.  The disposal ban would cover computers, monitors, televisions, DVD players and other electronics. In addition, state agencies must recycle its e-waste with a certified recycler. The recycler must be certified by either R2 or e-Stewards, according the bill.

According a recycler, Henry Renteria-Vigil, "Your older computer stuff actually has more gold in it than your newer stuff." 

Not losing that value is the idea behind the bipartisan bill that would keep this stuff out of landfills.

"I see this as just another form of mining," according to Rep. Don Coram (R-Montrose). "We have some valuable resources, valuable minerals that are simply going to waste."

Next, it will need to clear the House of Representatives in order to make it to the governor's desk.

Read the article.

Share

The Legislatures are back in full swing across the country and there are 30 bills that have been introduced or carried over from previous year. These bills range from creating new e-waste recycling program, to modifications and tweaks to existing services. Here are few : 

Previously, we reported that Hawaii was contemplating repealing their Extended Producer Responsibility E-waste law and replacing it with an Advanced Recovery Fee model where consumers are charged a recycling fee for electronics which funds e-waste recycling centers.

Since then, however, HB 2560 died in committee and SB 2822, the companion bill, was amended in Energy and Environment Committee to form an electronic device recycling task force.