by Eric Kelderman, Stateline.org Staff Writer
Five state legislatures took steps this year to curb the threat of toxic waste created by the proliferation of discarded computer gear and other digital junk, making 2007 a banner year for passage of electronic recycling laws.
Leading the pack, Minnesota enacted the nation’s strongest “e-cycling” law. It requires manufacturers of electronic goods to recycle 60% of the volume of their products sold in the state. Less stringent recycling laws passed and were signed into law in Connecticut, Oregon and Texas this year and North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley (D) also is expected to approve an e-waste law passed by his state’s Legislature.
Those five states join California, Maine, Maryland and Washington, which pioneered electronic recycling programs from 2003 to 2006.
State legislatures are being pressed to act by local governments worried about the hazards of lead, mercury and fire-retardant plastics in electronic devices, and the cost of cleaning those chemicals up in landfills, said Barbara Kyle a spokeswoman for the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
At the same time, states recognize that federal legislation requiring electronic recycling — preferred by the electronics industry — seems highly unlikely in the short-term, said Kyle, whose group is lobbying for stronger recycling measures.
While the nine states with mandatory electronics recycling have each taken different approaches, manufacturers are bearing the bulk of responsibility and the initial costs of recycling in eight of them. California, the first state to pass an electronics recycling law, is the exception, charging consumers $6 to $10 at the point of sale to dispose of digital waste.
Minnesota’s law, which took effect in July, goes furthest by requiring manufacturers to pay for the recycling based on their annual sales and to recover 60 percent of the weight of products sold in the state in the first year and 80 percent of that volume in the second year.
