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EPA's Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program is a voluntary partnership program that began in October 2006 to help protect the ozone layer and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. As part of the RAD program, partners recover ozone-depleting chemicals from old refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers. Using best practices, RAD partners ensure that: refrigerant is recovered and reclaimed or destroyed; foam is recovered and destroyed, or the blowing agent is recovered and reclaimed; metals, plastic, and glass are recycled; and PCBs, mercury, and used oil are recovered and properly disposed. As part of the program, EPA serves as a technical clearinghouse on responsible appliance disposal program development and implementation; calculates annual and cumulative program benefits in terms of ODS and GHG emission savings and equivalents and, as available, potential cost savings; and provides partner recognition for achievement, such as through press releases, brochures, articles, and awards. RAD partners include utilities, municipalities, retailers, manufacturers, universities, and other interested organizations.

"The DfE Computer Display Partnership, along with the electronics industry, evaluated the life-cycle environmental impacts, performance, and cost of technologies that are used in desktop computer monitors-namely, cathode ray tubes (CRT) and liquid crystal displays (LCD).This project generated data to assist original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers in the electronics field in incorporating environmental considerations into their decision-making processes and identify areas for improvement. This project combined both the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the Cleaner Technologies Substitutes Assessment (CTSA) approaches to analyze the environmental impacts, performance, and cost of both CRT and LCD desktop monitors. These evaluations will help the electronics industry: consider alternative technologies, materials, and processes that reduce releases of toxic chemicals, conserve resources, and lower risks to human health and the environment; perform an improvement assessment of display technologies and their components; and meet the growing global demands for 'extended product responsibility.'" Site includes general project information, findings & accomplishments, publications and a list of partners.

Living in an age of disposability has led many durable goods manufacturers to explore ways of reducing the environmental footprint their products leave during their manufacturing process and throughout their lifecycle. The sheer volume of mobile phones produced annually and the propensity of users to chase mobile technology trends leads to an average replacement cycle of between 12 and 18 months, bringing special attention to the greening efforts of mobile device manufacturers. As consumer awareness and environmental legislation continue to evolve, handset vendors are developing their corporate responsibility initiatives to develop new business practices aimed at improving the compliance and environmental sustainability of their handsets. The European commission and industry-led initiatives have made great progress in developing a set of requirements and goals for developing sustainable business practices across the entire life cycle of handset production, distribution, use and disposal. This study identifies and explores key global handset initiatives and the handsets that are coming to market as a result of vendors' efforts to minimize their environmental impact. It also offers an analysis of US consumer interest, awareness and preferences of green handset vendor initiatives. Available for purchase from ABI Research at this URL.

Hewlett Packard (HP), in collaboration with the Global Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF), and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa), has launched a groundbreaking initiative to develop sustainable recycling processes to tackle the problem of e-waste in Africa. For the past two years, the initiative has been overseeing a pilot program facility in South Africa and conducting e-waste management assessment studies in both Kenya and Morocco; the goal of the assessments is ultimately to properly determine each country's ability to deal with the e-waste there, whether it arose from electronics that were purchased new within the country and are now reaching their end of life, or from electronics that were shipped illegally from other countries. The project has been examining efforts by both African governments and organizations to safely handle e-waste. The project has been compiling extensive information, such as the policy and legal framework in each country, standard settings for e-waste treatment, organizations and programs already in place to safely process e-waste, and the actual amounts of e-waste present. MediaGlobal article by Shefali Lall, 7/20/09.

"EPA's DfE Program and the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) entered into a voluntary partnership with representatives of the wire and cable industry to evaluate the environmental impacts of the current standard material formulations and alternative formulations. Specifically, the partnership used a life-cycle assessment approach to examine the impacts of heat stabilizers, polymer systems and flame retardants used in insulation and jacketing for selected wire and cable products. This information will address the information gap on the environmental impacts of the different materials used in wire and cable insulation, and help companies make environmentally sound product and material choices."

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.

This portion of the Federal Facilities Environmental Stewardship & Compliance Assistance Center (FedCenter) web site provides resources related to the electronics stewardship program area. This program area addresses the life-cycle management of electronics from procurement to disposal. Links, documents, and case studies are provided for the Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC), the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), and Energy Star. Sections include: Regulations, Guidance, and Policy; Supporting Information and Tools; Lessons Learned; Training, Presentations, and Briefings; and Conferences and Events.

"Circuit boards are commonly found in electronics in consumer and industrial products, including computers and cell phones. Manufacturers commonly produce circuit boards with flame-retardant chemicals to help ensure fire safety. Some flame-retardant chemicals, however, can be harmful if released into the environment. To better understand the issue, the electronics industry is engaging with other stakeholders in a partnership with Design for the Environment to better understand the full range of options for flame retarding circuit boards...The electronics industry is forming this partnership to develop information that will improve their understanding of the environmental and human health impacts of new and current materials that can be used to meet the fire safety requirements for circuit boards. This information will be presented to allow industry to consider these impacts along with cost and performance of circuit boards as they review alternative materials and technologies. The participation of all relevant stakeholders is critical to developing the information for this partnership." Site includes general project information, milestones, publications and a list of partners.

Beijing Review article by Ding Wenlei, 7/9/09. "In the eight years after Guiyu became a collection point for electronic waste, Greenpeace China and other green organizations have not stopped urging major waste exporters to cease shipping their detritus to China. At the same time, they have been lobbying the Chinese Government to crack down more effectively on illegal electronic waste recycling. China finally has its own regulation on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)-the Regulation on the Administration of the Recovery and Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Products. Announced on February 25, the regulation will hold producers liable for the costs of managing their products at the end of their lifecycles as of January 1, 2011. According to the regulation, China will license large qualified recycling plants and develop a recycling economy to better safeguard the environment and human health. Yet, for environmental organizations, the Chinese Government and licensed recycling plants, it remains an uphill battle to smash the business chain of the illegal recycling of electronic waste."

GATINEAU, QUEBEC:(Marketwire):07/10/09: The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, today announced that the Government of Canada has launched a Request for Standing Offer (RFSO) for the provision of environmentally sound recycling of federal surplus electronic and electrical equipment that has reached its end of life. Today's RFSO was developed following consultations with other government departments, provincial recycling programs within five provinces, and industry associations. In addition, suppliers were consulted through a Request for Information posted on MERX(TM) in March 2009 and a draft RFSO (Letter of Interest) posted in June 2009. The RFSO covers all electronic and electrical equipment not suitable for re-use or that cannot be recycled through existing provincial recycling programs. It addresses a wide range of equipment, from IT, audio-visual and laboratory equipment, to appliances and electric tools.

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).

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.

The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) Pollution Prevention Program works to leverage the buying power of large institutions in order to expand the market for "greener" electronic products that encourages the development of a sustainable, socially responsible production system in the electronics sector. Currently the Pollution Prevention Program is focused on the health care sector, partnering with the Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) campaign, to encourage SF Bay Area hospitals and national health care organizations to adopt more environmentally preferable purchasing, management and disposal practices for their electronic equipment. CEH also provides purchasing assistance to institutions from other sectors such as government and private industry, partnering with other coalitions such as the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC). CEH integrates the resources and expertise of ETBC in electronics with the experience and knowledge of HCWH in procurement in order to influence the purchasing decisions of large institutions in healthcare, government and academia towards more environmentally responsible electronics. Contact Sue Chiang, Pollution Prevention Program Director, 510.655.3900 x311, sue[at]cehca.org or Judy Levin, Pollution Prevention Program Coordinator, 510.655.3900 x316, judy[at]cehca.org with any questions.

The WEEE Forum's set of remarks on the European Commission's Proposal for a recast of Directive 2002/96/EC on WEEE 24 April 2009. "In this paper, the WEEE Forum seeks to contribute, by providing both expert views and facts and figures, to the discussion on the recast of the Directive. The focus of this issue paper is the newly proposed collection targets and the requirement on member states to finance at least the costs of collection from collection facilities and the treatment, disposal and recovery of WEEE, and to encourage producers to take full ownership of the WEEE collection, in particular by financing the collection of WEEE throughout the whole waste chain including from private households."

Industry groups filed a lawsuit on Friday to block New York City's new electronics recycling law from taking effect next Friday. The law, passed in March 2008 by the City Council and finalized in regulations that the Department of Sanitation issued in April, requires manufacturers to take back their electronics, and provide pick-up service for items weighing 15 pounds or more. Starting in 2010, consumers will face a $100 fine for throwing old computers, televisions and other gadgets into the trash. Manufacturers who fail to recycle merchandise returned to them could be fined for each violation. The lawsuit, which was jointly filed by the Consumer Electronics Association and the Information Technology Industry Council in United States District Court in Manhattan, challenges numerous aspects of the law and regulations. The suit argues, among other things, that the law would improperly affect products made before the law took effect, that the pick-up requirement would be overly burdensome, and that the law would force companies to collect products that they may not have made. The suit also raises constitutional issues, asserting that the City Council's action amounts to an illegal effort to regulate interstate commerce.