E-WASTE & RECYCLING LAWS
Protecting Taxpayers, our Environment and Public Health while Creating an Incentive for Greener Design
Taxpayers Currently Foot the Exploding E-Waste Bill
Whether it’s administering an e-waste collection and recycling center, building landfills or cleaning up dumped monitors on the side of the road, we end up footing the exploding e-waste bill with our taxpayer dollars. Under Republican leadership, Congress and the EPA have done very little, so the States are moving to pass their own legislation. There are lots of confusing legislative options out there, but the two basic models are “Producer Take-Back” which holds manufacturers financially responsible, and “ARF” which makes consumers and taxpayers responsible.
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E-waste was piled up in front of San Jose City Hall for the release of the
Toxic TV, Poison PC report (PDF). The report gives evidence for the need of a producer led recycling solution.
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Producer Take-Back Laws Create Incentive for Clean Design
Environmental advocates, responsible businesses and consumer groups support Producer Take-Back laws. The concept is that if we require electronics producers to take back and deal with their old and obsolete products, they have the financial incentive to design toxic-free electronics that are cheaply and easily recycled. This not only alleviates our consumer and taxpayer burden, but it potentially diverts millions of pounds of e-waste from being dumped or burned. Producer Take-Back also mandates that e-waste is recycled responsibly and not sent to prisons or exported to impoverished countries where workers and children get paid as little as 25 cents per hour to smash apart toxic components without proper protection.
Learn more about Extended Producer Responsibility
Producer Take-Back is Sometimes Called EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility)
EPR is a concept that makes electronics manufacturers responsible for their products beyond the point of sale. They are also responsible for what’s in them and where they go at the point they become waste.
Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF) Does Nothing to Stem the Flow of E-Waste Around the Globe
ARF Coalition is made up of primarily TV and electronics manufacturers. ARF legislation requires consumers to pay a recycling fee of $4-$12 upon purchase of electronics products and then typically forces our government to administer a collection and recycling program. This is not fair to consumers or taxpayers, and creates no incentive for the industry to develop cleaner designs. As long as producers are left out of the responsibility loop, there is nothing stopping the global e-waste pile from growing exponentially at great cost to taxpayers, human health and the environment.
The U.S. Has Fallen Behind Europe’s RoHS & WEEE Laws and Take-Back in Asia
Some manufacturers already run Producer Take-Back programs in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and most of Europe, yet they are opposed to that same legislation here in the United States. Additionally the European Union has passed the WEEE and RoHS directives that require electronics manufacturers to bear the costs of organizing disposal, recycling and reuse of all products they put on the market after 2005. These directives also ban certain hazardous substances, and require companies to design and label their products for recycling. Learn more about the steps Europe has take to hold the electronics industry accountable
4 States Have Passed E-Waste Recycling Laws So Far:
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Click Here to learn about electronic recycling laws by state. | |
Washington: Producer responsibility and product stewardship to date, this is the most comprehensive in the country: View state legislation.
California: Advanced Recycling Fee. Consumers pay fee at purchase. View California legislation.
Maine: Producer responsibility system. Producers pay for consolidation and recycling. View Maine legislation.
Maryland: Five year pilot program to encourage county reycling programs. View Maryland legislation(PDF).
View details on other state legislation.
States and Cities That Have Pending Producer Take-Back Bills:
Take-back legislation is currently being considered in nearly a dozen states and is expected to be introduced in other states in the next year.
New Hampshire HB1455
New Jersey S 554 and A1663
New York State - A3200
Vermont S270
Washington State and SB6428
Wisconsin SB367
New York City bill
Elements of Model E-Waste Legislation (Courtesy of ETBC)
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Producer Responsibility
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Performance Measures - Effective legislation must set performance measures and time tables for meeting these performance goals.
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Comprehensive Scope - Effective legislation would frame a system for e-waste collection and recycling that applies to all brand owners, regardless of sales channels, and to all end users.
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Legacy Waste - Effective legislation must also create and finance a system of brand owner/producer responsibility for our stockpiles of so-called “legacy waste.” They would also be responsible for any electronic equipment they sold or discarded prior to the effective date of legislation.
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No Taxpayer Liability - Effective legislation must ensure that government and taxpayers are held harmless from all costs associated with collection, handling, transportation, storage, recycling and disposal of discarded electronics, as well as oversight and enforcement of systems established to handle these products.
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Disposal Bans
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Toxics Reduction
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Labeling - Effective legislation must require labeling of electronic equipment containing hazardous chemicals. Legislation should also require labeling or information provided to consumers about the system for managing discarded products.
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Responsible Recycling
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Procurement. (requirements for public agencies)
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No Waste Export.
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Governance and Enforcement.
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Resources
Elements of Model E-Waste legislation (ETBC)
Legislative Toolkit (ETBC)
ETBCs Legislation and Policy Page
Info on WEEE legislation from the EU
Info on EPR and electronics in Europe from CPA
Info on EPR and electronics in Japan from CPA
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Learn More About Producer Take-Back
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Learn More About Europe's Superior Electronics Recycling Laws
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View a Comparison of 4 current U.S. State Laws (PDF)
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Compare DELL, HP & Apple's Voluntary Take-Back Programs (Word Doc)
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