Wired Wisconsin E-Waste Position Paper

Wired Wisconsin E-Waste Position Paper

Introduction

It is no longer a surprise that our environment is in trouble. By supporting the development and promotion of green technologies such as wind energy and biofuels and encouraging responsible behavior such as electronic waste, or e-waste, recycling, Wired Wisconsin will strive to set an environmentally conscious and friendly example for technology consumers, businesses, and policy makers. Wired Wisconsin supports policies that encourage and in some cases require the responsible recycling of e-waste.

E-Waste Related Statistics:

  • 5-7 million computers, televisions, stereos, cell phones, electronic appliances and toys become obsolete in the United States a year.
  • Of products sold between 1980 and 2007, approximately 235 million units had accumulated in storage as of 2007.

Background

Current Legislation

Recently, the Wisconsin Legislature considered SB 107 during the Spring 2009 session. If passed this bill would have required all manufacturers of electronic products to register with the state and help fund an electronic recycling and disposal program. The logic for such a requirement is that if manufacturers are going to sell a new version of their electronic device and use big budget advertising campaigns to entice buyers, they should also be part of the solution of what to do with last year’s latest and greatest tech gadget. This e-waste recycling model is known as “producer responsibility” because the producer or manufacturer and anyone else who profits from the sale of the electronic device are financially responsible for the collection and recycling of their sold products.

Every year thousands of electronic devices are thrown into landfills and with those discarded devices comes hazardous chemicals such as mercury, cadmium, and chromium. These toxic chemicals can enter our water system and cause developmental problems in children or lead to cancer.

If SB 107 is passed, Wisconsin residents will have more opportunities to do the right thing with their unwanted and obsolete electronic devices—take them to designated collection sites for responsible recycling.

Items that will be covered under the law or Covered Electronic Devices (CEDs) include:

  • Consumer computers, video display devices and desktop printers
    • A Covered Video Display Device (VDD) is a television or a computer monitor with a tube or screen that is at least seven inches in the longest diagonal dimension
    • CED consumer printers include:
      • Desktop printers
      • Multifunction printer copiers and printer/fax combinations that are designed to reside on a work surface

Electronic Devices not included:

  • Floor-standing printers
  • Point of sale (POS) receipt printers
  • Household printers such as label makers, or non-stand-alone printers that are embedded into products that are not CEDs.

If SB 107 becomes law, electronic device manufactures will be required to recycle at least 80% of the total amount of CEDs sold. However, manufacturers may also include other Eligible Electronic Devices (EDDs) recycled towards their total recycling target.

EDDs include:

  • Printers
  • Computers
  • Peripherals
  • Facsimile (fax) machines
  • DVD players
  • Video cassette recorders
  • Video display devices.

Wired Wisconsin’s Position on SB 107

Wired Wisconsin has partnered with three Wisconsin Goodwill agencies—Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin, South Central Wisconsin and Northern Wisconsin—to promote education and the responsible recycling of e-waste. Goodwill Industries International—along with Dell Computers—founded the Reconnect program in 2004 to provide consumers with a convenient, free and responsible e-waste drop-off and recycling service for old and broken computers and electronics.

Our coalition supports this bill because it establishes responsibility for e-waste collection and recycling. Wisconsin’s e-waste bill is also very similar to a bill already adopted in Minnesota and is consistent with the Midwest States E-Waste Policy Initiative already endorsed by the Governor’s Task Force on Waste Materials Recovery and Disposal.

Because of this collaboration between states, manufactures and retailers are on a level playing field with inter-state consistency requiring manufactures, retailers and recycling companies to follow the same e-waste collection and recycling policies and procedures.

Conclusion

Wired Wisconsin will continue to educate consumers, businesses, and policy makers on the importance of responsibly recycling e-waste and will work to bring great visibility and public support to e-waste legislation such as SB 107.