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RSS feed for compilation of electronic waste resources available on the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) web site

Compilation on Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) web site that includes links to relevant online documents, legislation, news, events, funding opportunities, help desk questions & answers, and contacts.

This bill proposes to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants for electronic device recycling research, development, and demonstration projects, and for other purposes. Passed the U.S. House of Representatives and has been received by the Senate, as of 5/28/09. This page links to the full text of the bill and outlines bill actions.

Text of e-waste legislation signed by mayor of New York City 4/1/08. New York City is the first municipality to pass an e-waste recycling bill; the law requires manufacturers of certain electronic equipment to create a collection program for any person in the City who wants to properly discard of their electronics. The bill also bans e-waste from disposal into the City's solid waste stream. Devices covered include: CPUs, computer monitors, computer accessories including keyboards and mice, laptop computers, TVs, printers, and portable music players.

Illinois e-waste legislation that requires manufacturers to establish facilities to accept e-waste from consumers. The law is on a rolling basis and over the next few years the recycling requirements will kick in and by 2012, disposal of certain e-waste in municipal waste and sanitary landfills and at incinerators will be prohibited. The E-Waste Act only applies to electronic equipment taken out of use from residences, but it affects many of the businesses involved in the stream of electronic commerce. There is a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each day of violation. Devices covered in the legislation include computers, cell phones, televisions, PDAs, printers, fax machines, game consoles, VCRs, DVD players, iPods and others (calculators and typewriters are NOT included).

Waste & Recycling News, 5/28/09. Texas Gov. Rick Perry will have on his desk a bill requiring television manufacturers to provide Texas residents with free and convenient recycling for their old units. Proponents of the bill say it will help keep the 4 to 8 pounds of lead in cathode-ray tube televisions and the mercury in flat-screen TVs out of the environment. Televisions also contain brominated fire retardants and other hazardous chemicals.

A list and brief overview of the major e-waste recycling legislation that has been passed in other states (besides California). Includes links to text of legislation.

Text of Michigan e-waste legislation, effective December 29, 2008.

Summary of House Bills 6714-6715 and Senate Bills 896-897 as reported by house committee, 12/3/08. "In general, this package of bill would add a new Part 173 (Electronics) to the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to require manufacturers and recyclers of covered electronic devices (covered computers and covered video display devices) to register annually with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), pay annual registration fees to a new Electronic Recycling Fund, and to require manufacturers to operate takeback programs for covered devices used by individuals and small businesses. The bills are tie-barred to one another, meaning all must be enacted for any to go into effect."

Indiana law signed 5/13/09. Manufacturers of video display devices, such as TVs, computer monitors and laptops, must recycle 60 percent by weight of their sales of those products. They are required to register with the state by April 2010 and must include a plan describing how they will meet their recycling targets. They can count the recycling of other electronics, such as printers, keyboards and VCRs, toward their recycling goals. Manufacturers must report their progress at the end of each program year for state review. In the third year, the state will impose penalties for noncompliance.

The Indiana e-waste law forces manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection and recycling of their products. Manufacturers of video display devices, such as TVs and computer monitors, must register with the state by April 2010. Greener Computing, 5/19/09.

Even though holiday sales were down at least 2% from 2007, millions of Americans awoke Christmas morning to new computers, TVs and iPhones. (I didn't, but thanks for the pens, Mom.) Many of those gifts were replacements or upgrades, which prompts the question, What should you do with your old cell phone and other electronic equipment?

How--and why--we should make sure our old cell phones, TVs and PCs get dismantled properly; Time magazine article by Bryan Walsh, 1/8/09. Includes a good series of photos of China's "e-waste village."

GLRPPR is a professional organization dedicated to promoting information exchange and networking to pollution prevention (P2) professionals in the Great Lakes regions of the United States and Canada.

"Characterization of Lead Leachability From Cathode Ray Tubes Using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure"; Dec. 1999; Timothy G. Townsend, Stephen Musson, Yong-Chul Jang; Il-Hyun Chung; Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

This portion of the Electronics Take Back Coalition web site includes a map of the U.S. noting which states have passed or are considering e-waste regulations. Links to the text of the laws and program web sites are provided. Also includes information for

Image summarizing hazardous materials found in computers; Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition via WRPPN

87 pages; Published July 2001; note that the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance (MOEA) is now part of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)

Report for U.S. EPA Region 9; June 25, 2001

Book edited by Ruediger Kuehr and Eric Williams; "Collecting perspectives from manufacturers, recyclers, environmental scientists and policy analysts, the volume presents a set of analyses on issues important for understanding and planning response to the environmental challenges posed by computers."; this page includes table of contents and link to ordering information

American Plastics Council paper presented at Society of Plastics Engineers Annual Recycling Conference, November 2000; authors Michael M. Fisher, American Plastics Council, Michael B. Biddle, MBA Polymers, Inc., Tony Hainault, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance, Douglas S. Smith, Sony Electronics Inc., David J. Cauchi, Consultant, David A. Thompson, Matsushita Electric Corporation of America