Electronics contain toxic materials, such as lead, cadmium and mercury, that can pose health risks when improperly disposed of. These hazardous materials can leach into water supplies, contaminating groundwater and soil.
To combat these problems, state and local governments have passed laws requiring electronics manufacturers to finance and facilitate electronics recycling. These laws are known as extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws.
Federal Legislation
The federal government has a role in promoting electronics recycling because it sets standards and international agreements that manufacturers must follow. It also oversees a patchwork of state laws.
State laws are often influenced by the work of advocacy groups and industry associations that produce model acts for legislatures. Legislators may also copy legislation from other states or countries that have proven successful. The Electronics Take-Back Coalition is an excellent resource for comparing and contrasting state e-waste laws.
Many states have passed laws that require manufacturers to register as product stewardship organizations, and these entities must follow certain operational and financing rules. They are also required to report their performance status to the government. This helps keep the e-waste market under control and reduces the harm caused by exporting e-waste to developing nations where it is improperly handled. It also makes it more difficult for thieves and scavengers to make money by illegally collecting and selling used electronics.
State Legislation
A state’s laws are drafted and passed by its legislature, often a House of Representatives or a Senate. Its members use Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure to ensure that meetings and debates are conducted fairly. A professional parliamentarian also is present to assist legislators in keeping to the rules of order.
States with a statewide law on electronics recycling generally require manufacturers to provide enough broadly distributed collection sites so that everyone in the state can take advantage of them. This method is called a convenience mandate, outperforming performance mandates.
A statewide e-waste law such as the Boston electronics recycling can encourage recycling by prohibiting the disposal of most electronic devices as municipal solid waste. It can discourage landfilling, reduce the harm caused by the export of e-waste to third-world nations and help sustain domestic and international markets for viable used electronic equipment. It can also reduce the pollution generated by the manufacture of a new device and cut back on the need to extract valuable, limited virgin materials.
Local Legislation
Despite technological advancements, millions of used electronics are obsolete each year and end up as waste. To address the problem, the government has been making a series of policies to promote professional e-waste recycling. The Ministry of Environmental Protection, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the General Administration of Customs have all played a significant role in formulating e-waste policy.
In the past decade, government departments have formed an intergovernmental collaboration network and made steady progress in forming policy themes on e-waste management. For example, the Ministry of Environmental Protection mainly put macroscopic policies on major aspects of professional e-waste recycling, such as pollution prevention and control from dismantling electronic waste products. It also published policy documents on qualification censorship and permission for treatment companies and technical specifications on controlling pollution from the processing of e-waste.
However, tracking local legislation without an automated tool can be time-consuming and error-prone. A team might spend hours each week reviewing Google alerts, navigating through city websites to download meeting agendas and minutes, or reading weekly newsletters from municipal clerks.
Private Sector Legislation
The government has promoted the circulation management of e-waste by encouraging people and organizations to hand over their old electrical appliances for professional recycling. It has also pushed for green lifestyles, encouraging people to choose products that can be reused.
Since 2010, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has been collaborating with other ministries and departments on e-waste policies, including the general office of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Commerce. They have jointly issued documents such as the demonstration base of urban mineral resources and the regulations on dismantling and smelting waste electrical and electronic products.
In addition, they have established a network of policy interrelations and promoted the e-waste treatment fund system and a collection scheme for recycled e-waste. They have also learned from other countries experiences of extended producer responsibility (EPR). This includes laws that require manufacturers to pay for some recycling costs of their products, giving them an incentive to design greener products.
