THE “GREENING” OF LANDFILLS: PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH BY RECYCLING E-WASTE

Volume 29, Issue 512 March 31, 2008

Christina Kent

Americans own nearly 3 billion electronic products.

For each new product that comes along, one or more becomes outdated—and possibly discarded. In 2005, Americans threw away about 2 million tons of electronic products, such as computers. Nearly all of this “e-waste” (up to 1.9 million tons) ended up in landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Some lawmakers are concerned. While electronics are safe when used, once discarded in a landfill the acidic conditions can cause lead and other heavy metals to leak out. If the landfill’s liner fails, the groundwater supply may become contaminated by substances such as lead (known to affect children’s brain development), cadmium (linked to emphysema, renal disease and prostate cancer), and mercury (which can injure brain functioning and development). Older computer monitors and TV picture tubes are of particular concern as each contains an average of four pounds of lead.

“The average homeowner has probably two and a half computers in his basement and with the advent of high-definition TVs, we’re probably going to see a whole generation of TVs set out along the curbside,” said New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora. “They contain cadmium, mercury, lead, just about the whole periodic table of elements. Unless we learn to dispose of them properly, all of these will wind up in the waste stream or landfill.”

Some manufacturers have begun to recycle their products at no cost or for a small fee. They’re also working to improve product design and reduce the use of toxic materials. Their efforts are driven in part by the fact that if the waste is not recycled in the United States, much of it is shipped to developing countries, where it may be refurbished for use but also is likely to pollute water supplies.

A federal law regulates the disposal of hazardous wastes (with exemptions for certain wastes generated by households and small businesses). Nevertheless, a growing number of states are enacting laws that contain more stringent requirements than the federal one. Ten states have passed laws to create statewide e-waste recycling programs. In 2007, Connecticut, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas joined them. New Jersey enacted its first e-waste law in 2008, and bills are pending in other states.

California was the first state to enact an e-waste law. Its 2003 “advanced recycling fee” model requires consumers to pay retailers a fee of $6 to $10 when they purchase a television or a computer, depending on its screen size. Retailers transfer the fees to an account, which is then distributed to approved recyclers.

No other state has a model like California’s—most prefer “extended producer responsibility” measures that require manufacturers to pay to collect and recycle the products.

The Garden State Law

Signed in January by Governor Jon Corzine, the New Jersey law (A 3572) is aimed mostly at used televisions. Each manufacturer of televisions who sells within New Jersey borders must register with the state for a $5,000 fee. Each manufacturer also pays to the state its portion of the costs incurred by an authorized recycler for the collection, transportation and recycling of used televisions. The cost to each manufacturer is based on the company’s market share in the state, multiplied by the total, in pounds, of used televisions collected under the program.

The monies in the Used Television Recycling and Management Program Fund will be distributed to counties and cities that will carry out their own recycling plans, as well as pay for a statewide plan where local ones are not put in place. The state will maintain a toll-free telephone number and website that will list where consumers can bring electronic devices for recycling. “No fees or costs may be charged to consumers for the collection, transportation, or recycling of covered electronic devices,” the law states.

Getting the bill passed was “an exhausting two-year task because a lot of the manufacturers wanted us to do the California model, where the retailer collects a fee,” said Assemblyman Gusciora. “But that allows the manufacturer to be off the hook. We felt it was better to make the producers responsible because that would give them an incentive to develop more environmentally friendly products.”

In addition, he said, advanced recycling fees would “be a burden to a lot of ‘Mom and Pops,’” might have incurred the governor’s opposition because it “would have been dubbed the ‘Corzine tax,’” and would be a disincentive to purchase televisions in New Jersey.

Not all the manufacturers were opposed to the law, Assemblyman Gusciora noted. Hewlett-Packard and Dell, for example, already have recycling programs of their own, and the law contains an “opt out” provision for manufacturers who set up their own collection, transportation and recycling programs.

Some members of Congress have formed a bipartisan e-waste working group to develop a national approach to e-waste disposal. Federal action is supported by some manufacturers who say that conforming to different state laws is burdensome.

For more information, see the April 2008 NCSL LegisBrief: “Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle: Managing E-Waste.”

Contact NCSL’s Brooke Oleen, (303) 364-7700, Brooke.Oleen@NCSL.org, or Tamra Spielvogel, (202) 624-5400, Tamra.Spielvogel@NCSL.org

A useful Congressional Research Service report on “e-waste” is at: http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/abstract.cfm?NLEid=1906