Electronic waste in the United States

Electronic waste
Electronic waste
Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its...

in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

is being addressed with regulations at a state and federal level.

Ninety percent of US e-waste is exported to China and Nigeria.

Federal

The United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

considers a number of electronic waste bills, including the National Computer Recycling Act introduced by Congressman Mike Thompson

Mike Thompson

Michael C. Thompson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties as well as parts of Yolo and Sonoma Counties....

(D-CA). Meanwhile, the main federal law governing solid waste is the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act , enacted in 1976, is the principal Federal law in the United States governing the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste.-History and Goals:...

of 1976. It covers only CRTs, though state regulations may differ. There are also separate laws concerning battery disposal. Several trade organizations including the Consumer Electronics Association

Consumer Electronics Association

The Consumer Electronics Association is a standards and trade organization for the consumer electronics industry in the United States. The Consumer Electronics Association is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $173 billion U.S...

are lobbying for the implementation of comprehensive federal laws. On March 25, 2009, the House Science and Technology Committee approved funding for research on reducing electronic waste and mitigating environmental impact, regarded by sponsor Ralph Hall

Ralph Hall

Ralph Moody Hall is a United States Representative from . First elected in 1980, Hall is the chairman of the Science Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee...

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

-TX

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

) as the first federal bill to address electronic waste directly. On July 6, 2009, Senator Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar

Amy Jean Klobuchar is the senior United States Senator from Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party...

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

-MN

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

) and Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D

Democratic Party (United States)

-NY

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

) proposed the "Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act". Bill S.1397 not only focuses on stopping illegal e-waste dumping, but it also calls for sustainable design

Sustainable design

Sustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...

of electronic equipment as well as offers funding for research and development of more sustainable designs, which would reduce the amount of toxic waste and increase the reuse and recycling of electronic products.

During Earth Day, April 22, 2009, two bills were passed by the House of Representatives: H.R. 1580 Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act, introduced by Rep. Bart Gordon on March 18, 2009, and H.R. 957 Green Energy Education Act, introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX.) H.R. 1580 requires the Administration of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give merit-based grants to consortia of universities, government labs and private industries to conduct research with the purpose of finding new approaches to recycling and reduction of hazardous materials in electronic devices and to "contribute to the professional development of scientists, engineers, and technicians in the field of electronic device manufacturing, design, refurnishing, and recycling." The bill will require the recipients of the grants to report every two years to Congress about the progress of their research, gaps in the advancement, risks and regulatory barriers that might hinder their progress. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that to put the bill in effect "would cost $10 million in 2010 and $80 million over the 2010-2014 period." The other billed passed, H.R. 957, authorizes the Department of Energy in partnership with the National Science Foundation to provide grants to Institutions of higher education to promote education and training for Engineers and Architects "in high energy and high-performance building design."

State

A policy of "diversion from landfill" has driven legislation in many states requiring higher and higher volumes of electronic waste to be collected and processed separate from the solid waste stream.

In 2001, Arkansas enacted the Arkansas Computer and Electronic Solid Waste Management Act, which requires that state agencies manage and sell surplus computer equipment, establishes a computer and electronics recycling fund, and authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality to regulate and/or ban the disposal of computer and electronic equipment in Arkansas landfills.

California was the first state to legislate around the issue of e-waste. It implemented a broader waste ban, with advance recovery fee funding in 2003. Electronic waste in California may neither be disposed of in a landfill nor be exported overseas. The 2003 Electronic Waste Recycling Act

Electronic Waste Recycling Act

The Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 is a California law to reduce the use of certain hazardous substances in certain electronic products sold in the state...

in California introduced an Electronic Waste Recycling Fee

Electronic Waste Recycling Fee

The Electronic Waste Recycling Fee is a fee imposed by the government of the state of California in the United States on new purchases of electronic products with viewable screens. It is one of the key elements of the Electronic Waste Recycling Act. Retailers submit the collected fees to the Board...

on all new monitors and televisions sold to cover the cost of recycling. The fee ranges from six to ten dollars. California went from only a handful of recyclers to over 60 within the state and over 600 collection sites. The amount of the fee depends on the size of the monitor; it was adjusted on July 1, 2005 in order to match the real cost of recycling. Cellphones are "considered hazardous waste" in California; many chemicals in cellphones leach from landfills into the groundwater system.

Colorado legislation requires education programs that address its electronic waste problem.

In 2004, Maine passed Maine Public Law 661, An Act to Protect Public Health and the Environment by Providing for a System of Shared Responsibility for the Safe Collection and Recycling of Electronic Waste. It necessitates that after 2006, computer manufacturers take responsibility for handling and recycling computer monitors, and pay the handling costs as well.

Massachusetts was the first of the United States to make it illegal to dispose of CRTs in landfills in April 2000, most similar to the European disposal bans of the 1990s.

Minnesota enacted a law making vendors responsible for the disposal of their branded electronics. Minnesota legislation also outlaws the dumping of cathode ray tubes in landfills.

A law in the state of Washington took effect on January 1, 2009, requiring manufacturers of electronic goods to pay for recycling, and establishing a statewide network of collection points. The program, called E-Cycle Washington, is managed by the Department of Ecology and the Washington Materials Management & Financing Authority.

On January 28, 2010, Arizona introduced HB 2614, a producer responsibility law modeled on the Oregon law that would have covered computers, laptops and TV monitors for recycling. However, it was withdrawn on January 10, 2010.

As of 2008, 17 states have producer responsibility laws in some form. In all, 35 states have or are considering electronic waste recycling laws.

Location	Date signed into law	Legislation
Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...	2003	Arkansas Computer and Electronic Solid Waste Management Act
California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...	2003	Electronic Waste Recycling Act Electronic Waste Recycling Act The Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 is a California law to reduce the use of certain hazardous substances in certain electronic products sold in the state... Cell Phone Takeback and Recycling Rechargeable Battery Takeback and Recycling
Colorado Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...	July 2007	National Computer Recycling Act Cell Phone Takeback and Recycling Rechargeable Battery Takeback and Recycling
Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...	July 2007	CT Electronic Recycling Law
Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...	July 2008	Hawaii Electronic Device Recycling Program
Illinois Illinois Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...	September 2008	Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act
Indiana Indiana Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...	May 2009	Amendment to Indiana environmental law
Maine Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...	2004	§1610. Electronic waste An Act To Protect Public Health and the Environment by Providing for a System of Shared Responsibility for the Safe Collection and Recycling of Electronic Waste
Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...	2005	Maryland's Statewide Electronics Recycling Program
Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....	May 2007	SB No. 897
Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...	December 2008	Minnesota’s Electronics Recycling Act
Missouri Missouri Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...	June 2008	Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer Convenience Equipment Collection and Recovery Act
New Jersey New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...	December 2008	Act No. 394
New York State	28 May 2010	Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act (effective from 1 April 2011)
New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	April 2008, vetoed overrode by council May 2008	INT 728 INT 729
North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...	August 2007 amended to add TVs August 2008	S1492 (2007) H819 (2008 Amendment)]
Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...	May 2008	Oklahoma Computer Equipment Recovery Act
Oregon Oregon Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...	June 2007	House Bill 2626
Rhode Island Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...	June 2008	Electronic Waste Prevention, Reuse, and Recycling Act
Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...	June 2007	House Bill 2714
Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...	March 2008	Computer Recovery and Recycling Act.
Washington	March 2006	SB 6428
West Virginia West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...	March 2008	SB 746
Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...	October 2009	SB 107

Consumer recycling

Consumer recycling options include donating equipment directly to organizations in need, sending devices directly back to their original manufacturers, or getting components to a convenient recycler or refurbisher.

Donation

Consumer recycling includes a variety of donation options, such as charities which may offer tax benefits

Tax deduction

Income tax systems generally allow a tax deduction, i.e., a reduction of the income subject to tax, for various items, especially expenses incurred to produce income. Often these deductions are subject to limitations or conditions...

. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of electronic recycling and donation options for American consumers. The National Cristina Foundation, TechSoup (the Donate Hardware List), the Computer Takeback Campaign,and the National Technology Recycling Project provide resources for recycling. However, local recycling sites that do not process waste products on site, and consumers that throw electronics in the trash, still contribute to electronic waste.

Takeback

Individuals looking for environmentally-friendly ways in which to dispose of electronics can find corporate electronic takeback and recycling programs across the country. Corporations nationwide have begun to offer low-cost to no-cost recycling, open to the public in most cases, and have opened centers nationally and in some cases internationally. Such programs frequently offer services to take back and recycle electronics, including mobile phones, laptop and desktop computers, digital cameras, and home and auto electronics. Companies such as Staples, Toshiba, and Gateway offer takeback programs that provide monetary incentives for recyclable and/or working technologies. The Manufacturers Recycling Management Co. was founded by Panasonic

Panasonic

Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...

, Sharp Corporation

Sharp Corporation

is a Japanese multinational corporation that designs and manufactures electronic products. Headquartered in Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan, Sharp employs more than 55,580 people worldwide as of June 2011. The company was founded in September 1912 and takes its name from one of its founder's first...

, and Toshiba

Toshiba

is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...

to manage electronic waste branded by these manufacturers, including 750 tons of TVs, computers, audio equipment, faxes, and components in its first four months. Office Depot

Office Depot

Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...

lets customers obtain "tech recycling" boxes for e-waste if not eligible for the EcoNEW tech trade-in program. Best Buy

Best Buy

Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...

offers a similar program for products which were purchased at Best Buy. Exceptions exist in some states, which allow for the trade-in of electronics which were not purchased at Best Buy.

Though helpful to both the environment and its citizens, there are some downsides to such programs. Many corporations offer services for a variety of electronic items, while their recycling centers are few in number. Recycling centers and takeback programs are available in many parts of the country, but the type and amount of equipment to be recycled tends to be limited. Some corporations, like Sony in its Take Back Recycling Program, provide recycling incentives but only accept up to five recycled items per day and only if they are that corporation's products. Sony also partners with the Waste Management Inc. Recycle America program and offers discounts and tradeup programs. Costco, which offers free shipping and handling for all recycled pieces of equipment, will only allow Costco club members to participate in their programs. Crutchfield Electronics

Crutchfield

Crutchfield Corporation is a consumer electronics company specializing in many consumer electronics items, including mobile audio and video equipment for the automobile and televisions, speakers, and other electronics for the home....

offers its own gift cards in exchange for electronic waste, through Consumer Electronics Exchange. Hewlett-Packard has recycled over 750 million pounds of electronic waste globally, including hardware and print cartridges.

Lobbying

Various organizations actively lobby government in order to address electronic waste issues. The major organisations are the Basel Action Network

Basel Action Network

The Basel Action Network is an non-governmental charitable organization working to combat the export of toxic waste, toxic technology and toxic products from industrialized societies to developing countries. BAN operates globally but is based in Seattle, Washington, United States, with a partner...

and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition , is a San Jose, California based research and advocacy group that promotes safe environmental practices in the high tech industry...

Reuse

Free Geek

Free Geek is a collectively run non-profit organization started in Portland, Oregon in 2000. Free Geek has two central goals: to reuse or recycle used computer equipment that might otherwise become hazardous waste, and to make computer technology more accessible to those who lack financial means or...

is a collectively run non-profit organization started in Portland, Oregon. It has two central goals: to reuse or recycle used computer equipment that might otherwise become hazardous waste, and to make computer technology more accessible to those who lack financial means or technical knowledge. Nonprofit Technology Resources

Nonprofit Technology Resources

Nonprofit Technology Resources is a charitable nonprofit organization inside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that "serves low-income people in Philadelphia by recycling used computers, providing hands-on work experience, and assisting community-based service organizations to use computers in their...

in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a similar mission.

ReCellular, Inc. and GreenCells

GreenCells

GreenCells is a company that buys and resells used, refurbished or discontinued cell phones, to help reduce electronic waste. The company was founded in 2005 by Brian Moore and Jay Hines.-GreenCells in the news:* March 18, 2011 ABC News...

are organizations that buy and resell used, refurbished or discontinued cell phones, to help reduce electronic waste

Electronic waste

Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its...

External links

EPA - computer donation locations
EPA - ECycling

Organizations

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