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Recycling and E-waste, how to be responsible
For decades now, our lives have been surrounded by electronic devices and that implies a lot of electronic waste which could be harmful for our environment. Companies around the world attempt to support an effort to reduce waste and focus on being eco-responsible. Apple, for example, employs it’s e-trade program to recycle old devices and offer credit to buy new ones.
Below is a 2019 snapshot from smithweb of the evolution of E-Waste Laws and regulation worldwide.
They also show a US centric evolution from 2019 to show the disparity regarding e-waste in US.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tries to inform customers about acquiring electronic equipment in order to make them aware of the impact of e-waste and regulations set by each state to support this. The EPA provides a lot of information on the latest laws and regulations related to e-waste on their website https://www.epa.gov/smm-electronics. As you can see on the US map, not all states have enacted statewide laws. Each state is in charge of making its own e-waste and recycling laws as there are no federal regulations about e-waste and recycling.
For example:
Hawaii (SB 2843)
By January 1, 2009, each manufacturer of new covered electronic devices offered for sale must register with the Department of Health and pay a registration fee of $5,000. By June 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, each manufacturer shall submit a plan to the Department to establish, conduct, and manage a program for the collection, transportation, and recycling of its covered electronic devices sold in Hawaii.
Covered Devices: TVs, Computer Monitors, or anything that has a display greater than 4" or contains a circuit board
Effective Date: July 1, 2008
Maine (LD 1892)
LD 1892, enacted in 2004, requires municipalities to send waste computer and television monitors to consolidation centers that are fully-funded by manufacturers. The manufacturers also pay to ship and recycle the electronic waste according to Maine's environmentally sound recycling guidelines. Manufacturers cover costs apportioned according to the number of their units recovered in Maine, including a share of "orphan units," (units made by manufacturers now out-of-business).
Covered Devices: TVs, Computer Monitors, or anything that has a display greater than 4" or contains a circuit board
Effective Date: January 18, 2006
The full list of regulations by state to support recycling of electronic equipment has been published on cawrecycles.org and can be found here, and California’s regulations can be found here.
There is still much work to do to improve the way we are handling and recycling electronic parts, but the progress made over the years is impressive, not only in the US, but also around the world. In France, for example, a repair score will be used soon in order to inform the customer on how easy it is to repair electronic equipment. The goal is to help customers choose products which are easily fixable, resulting in less e-waste and more recycling.
