In the absence of a federal program, electronics recycling is currently a patchwork of manufacturer, retailer, and state and local government initiatives. Here's a look at some of the major state-based recycling programs:
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• In Maine, where electronic equipment is banned from landfills, municipalities deliver household computer monitors and televisions to consolidation facilities for recycling. Manufacturers are then billed for the cost of recycling based on the proportion of waste generated by their products. This approach may provide an incentive for manufacturers to design equipment that lasts longer or is more easily recycled, according to proponents. Municipalities may charge consumers a small fee to cover collection costs.
• Maryland is going in a different direction with its five-year pilot program, which currently only applies to desktop and laptop computers and computer monitors, but could conceivably be expanded to include TV sets. All computer manufacturers in Maryland must pay an initial, annual $5,000 registration fee that counties and municipalities will use to facilitate recycling. If the manufacturer starts a take-back program and maintains it accordingly, the fee for subsequent years is reduced to $500.
• In California, where electronic equipment is also banned from landfills, buyers of computer monitors (and TVs) pay a non-refundable fee of $6 to $10 at the point of sale, depending on the screen dimensions. That money is then funneled by the state into a system of approved collectors and recyclers. While that promotes recycling, it may not create an incentive for industry to design longer-lasting products, reuse old components, or make equipment easier to recycle, recycling proponents say.
• In Washington state, electronics manufacturers will be required as of 2009 to pay for the collection, transportation, and recycling of computers, monitors, and TVs from consumers, small business, schools, governments, and charities in the state.
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To learn more about state-wide electronics recycling laws, visit the Electronics TakeBack Coalition Web site.
Some state and local governments have banned CRT computer and television monitors from landfills. States with bans include California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. To find out if a ban exists in your community, you can contact your local waste management agency.
Manufacturer recycling programs. Several manufacturers now have recycling programs, including Apple, Dell, HP, and Gateway. Some will take back their equipment for recycling and reuse in what's known as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) or take-back programs. But some charge a nominal fee or require the purchase of a new computer before they'll accept an old one for recycling. Other companies contribute to private recycling programs. Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, supports the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
CU has also published a white paper, "Electronic Waste: Finding Sustainable Solutions that Work Better for Consumers" that explores the growing problem of electronic waste. You can read a summary (PDF) or the complete paper (PDF).
Taking out toxics.
Some computer makers are developing new product designs that reduce the use of toxics, partly in response to the European Union's Restriction of the use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) law. California has passed a similar, but less rigorous law that will become effective in January 2007 that bans the sale of electronics including computers, computer monitors and televisions that contain certain heavy metals, including lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium. For more information on California's law, visit the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. The state also passed a ban to take effect in 2008 on the use of some brominated flame retardants after the chemicals were found in fish from the San Francisco Bay.
Creating demand for greener computers and monitors. Recognizing that the federal government is the largest purchaser of IT products and services worldwide, accounting for 7 percent of the market, the White House and EPA recently launched the Federal Electronics Challenge. This is a voluntary program aimed at helping federal agencies 'green' their procurement, use, and disposal of electronics. For more information, visit The Federal Electronics Challenge program online.
Defining what green means for computers. To help public and private sector purchasers buy greener computers and provide one consistent set of environmental performance criteria for manufacturers to design to, a group of key stakeholders, including government, private, non-profit and academic representatives, has developed an Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). EPEAT evaluates products according to three tiers of environmental performance: Bronze, Silver and Gold. To learn more, visit EPEAT online.
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