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Collective concern from businesses, municipalities, environmentalists and manufacturers over the hazards of e-waste has led to a search for ways to reduce its environmental impact. With a greater need for programs that handle collection and disposal of used electronics products in a way that is safest for the environment, product stewardship is emerging as a viable and cost-efficient strategy for doing so, placing the responsibility for a product's proper disposal on the shoulders of the company that makes or sells the product, or even upon the purchaser. The concept can be applied to a range of products, from paints and prescription medication to batteries and computers. Written by Carl Smith, CEO of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, 7/22/09.

Two Democratic U.S. Senators -- Amy Klobuchar of Minn. and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York -- introduced earlier this month legislation aimed at funding R&D efforts to improve to recycle e-waste and develop best practices and innovation in greener design of electronics. The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act, a nearly identical version of which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in April, provides almost $85 million over the next three years to help spur the growth of electronics recycling practices in the U.S. The bill, S. 1397, includes four main initiatives: providing grants for R&D into e-waste processes and practices, funding research into environmentally friendly materials for use in electronics, establishing educational curricula for engineering students at all levels to incorporate green design practices into electronics, and publishing a report from the National Academy of Sciences laying out the good and the bad in the current state of electronics recycling.

iGo, a leading provider of portable power management, has made a pledge to support and maintain the iGo Recycles program in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency's Plug-in to eCycling. The program is a voluntary partnership between the EPA and electronics manufacturers to offer household consumers more opportunities to donate or recycle their used electronics.

"It seems like every time you turn around a new and better smartphone or HDTV set goes on sale. That's great for consumers who are eager to upgrade to the latest gadgets but it's maybe not so good for the environment. The bad news is 60% of Americans are not recycling their old gadgets. The good news is that resellers and manufacturers are rising to the occasion and implementing their own recycling services. In this Gadget Census report we look at how consumers across the country are being green with gadgets and what is being done to help manage the growing number of devices that are turning into e-waste every day. "

This is a summary of available statistics that quantify the problems of electronic waste and e‐waste recycling efforts. Each item includes its source and link to the original documents (where available), to make it easy for reporters to confirm data back to the original source. We assembled these statistics primarily for media and for legislators and advocates of e‐waste

A furniture refinishing company has launched a new electronics recycling program to deal with waste electronics generated by furniture remodeling projects. The Refinishing Touch is an Alpharetta, Ga., company that offers on-site furniture refinishing, re-upholstery and armoire modification services to hotel chains and the federal government. Recently the company has conducted armoire modifications for several hotel chains upgrading television sets in guest rooms from CRTs to HD flat panel displays. The company is launching the new program to deal with those discarded displays. The company will guarantee TVs accepted through the program are recycled in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration and EPA industry standards as well as all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations. The company also is in the process of gaining no-landfill certification for the program. Waste & Recycling News, 1/13/10.

"Discarded electronic products and components - or e-waste, as they are collectively known - can represent either a major environmental dilemma or a massive potential economic windfall. If treated properly, much e-waste may be reclaimed or recycled for future use and converted into a significant new revenue stream. Improperly treated e-waste, on the other hand, poses a massive threat to the world's ecosystem and can result in contamination to the soil, air, and water, while also exposing workers, nearby residents, and wildlife to a multitude of health hazards. This study forecasts that the worldwide market for e-waste recovery will grow from $5.7 billion in 2009 to nearly $14.7 billion by the end of 2014, representing a CAGR of 20.8% over the forecast period. This figure represents money generated through reclamation of valuable materials from e-scrap."

Dakota County is making it easier for residents to recycle TVs at The Recycling Zone. Making it easier for people to recycle is just one of the ways Dakota County plans to meet its goal to increase recycling this year by 20 percent.

Nike and Creative Commons are calling upon other companies and stakeholders to bring the network efficiencies of open innovation to solving the problems of sustainability. GreenXchange will seek to bring together stakeholders in working groups to discuss strategies for advancing the commons by exploring ideas such as using patent pools, research non-assertions, and using technologies that support networked and community-based knowledge transfer and sharing.

Trash Track relies on the development of smart tags, which will be attached to different types of garbage in order to track in real time each piece of waste as it traverses the city's sanitation system. The goal of the project is to reveal the disposal process of our everyday objects and waste, as well as to highlight potential inefficiencies in today's recycling and sanitation systems. The project will be exhibited at the Architectural League in New York City and in Seattle starting September 2009. MIT SENSEable City Lab project; this is the project web site.

Scientific American, 7/17/09, article by Larry Greenemeier. Most people assume that their trash ends up in a landfill somewhere far away (if they think about this at all). But growing concern over the environmental impact of waste-discarded electronics, in particular-has prompted a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to take a high-tech approach to studying exactly what people are tossing out and where those items are ending up. The researchers, part of MIT's Senseable City Lab, have developed electronic tags that they're hoping as many as 3,000 volunteers in Seattle and New York City will affix to different items they throw away this summer as part of the Trash Track program. These tags will contact cell phone towers they pass as they flow through the trash stream to their final destinations, helping the researchers monitor the patterns and costs of urban disposal.

As more organizations worldwide come to see the value of investing in eco-friendlier hardware, PC vendors are jockeying for the right to lay claim to the greenest wares. Proving a central weapon in this battle is the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) registry. Plenty of companies are finding the tool invaluable for finding green machines that meet their particular needs. The problem is, some vendors -- intentionally or otherwise -- might be abusing the system to make themselves and their wares look greener.

Waste & Recycling News, 6/10/09 edition. "LGE MobileComm USA, a unit of LG Electronics Inc., is teaming up with San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit to provide mobile phone recycling. LG began outfitting six BART stations in San Francisco with cell phone collection receptacles to encourage commuters to recycle their phones, chargers and accessories. The sites will accept any manufacturer's devices through July 6. Only 10% of the mobile phones sold in the United States are recycled, according to the company."

KVUE News, Austin, TX, 6/23/09. Includes video with reporter Elise Hu. "Austin Democrat Kirk Watson says he's stunned by a veto from Governor Rick Perry of a bill that would have encouraged people to recycle their old TVs instead of throwing them out. Watson's measure would have called for manufacturers to take back their old sets. He says the manufacturers were OK with that, and that's why he's surprised Perry tossed it out. " Comments are interesting--people are perplexed as to why legislation would be necessary to encourage recycling; apparent ignorance of cost associated with electronics recycling.

The Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC) promotes green design and responsible recycling in the electronics industry. Its goal is to protect the health and well being of electronics users, workers, and the communities where electronics are produced and discarded by requiring consumer electronics manufacturers and brand owners to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products, through effective public policy requirements or enforceable agreements. ETBC plans to accomplish this goal by establishing extended producer responsibility (EPR) as the policy tool to promote sustainable production and consumption of consumer electronics (all products with a circuit board). The Campaign will focus first on establishing EPR for personal computers.

Environmental groups and some electronics recyclers are opposed to a federal electronic scrap bill that would allow recyclers to export units to developing countries for repair or refurbishing. Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, introduced House Resolution 2595 in U.S. House of Representatives. The measure is aimed at prohibiting exports of certain types of electronic scrap. But it does not go far enough, according to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition and the Basel Action Network. Waste & Recycling News, 6/2/09.

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).

(CNN) -- The champions at the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver can stand on the podium proud of their achievements, but the eco-minded among them can be extra proud that their medals are made with traces of precious metals recovered from e-waste. According to a new report, however, a more universal solution to a growing problem needs to be found.