Jun 20 - ME - Legislature Passes E-Scrap Expansion

This year, while only one state has added a new e-waste law (Utah), other states are improving their e-waste program including Illinois (pending), Texas and now Maine.

Legislators bypassed Governor Paul LePage's veto pen for an expansion to the state's e-scrap product stewardship law on June 8th. LePage also previously proposed rolling back the state's recycling program. Legislators passed LD 981 (Rep. Innes) as an emergency bill, allowing schools, non-profit organizations and businesses with fewer than 100 employees to participate in Maine's household e-scrap recycling program. Currently, only households can participate in Maine’s e-waste program.

According to the author of the bill, Rep. Innes says:
Since 2004, this manufacturer financed program has recycled over 30 million pounds of electronics, 30 million pounds that most likely would have ended up in our landfills or burned in our energy plants, spewing toxic fumes into our air. Not only will this bill help protect our environment, but it will create much needed jobs as well.

Read an article.

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