MILWAUKEE — Now in its second year, the E-Cycle Wisconsin program, which requires state residents to recycle their electronic waste, is already helping to grow the state economy and keep electronics out of landfills.

E-waste collectors and recyclers from across Wisconsin are seeing a significant influx of electronic equipment in 2011, which means more business and, ultimately, more jobs.

“Wisconsin’s e-waste recycling law is smart policy, both for our environment and our economy,” says Thad Nation, executive director of Wired Wisconsin.  “Not only are we keeping hazardous substances like nickel and lead out of our ecosystems, we’re also generating economic growth through the recycling and redistribution process.”

E-Cycle Wisconsin collects old electronic equipment from consumers, schools and businesses via registered collectors throughout Wisconsin, who in turn sell the collected electronics to recyclers. These recyclers break the recycled equipment into its component parts, many of which are then crushed and smelted.  The raw materials are then sold to manufacturers at a lower cost than they would pay for new materials, saving those companies money and improving their bottom line.

The number of registered collectors increased nearly 25 percent from the first year of the program to the second year of the program, and now includes 153 throughout the state. Nearly nine out of 10 registered collectors (89 percent) were active during 2011, compared to only 63 percent in the program’s first year.

As of October 2011, there were nearly 400 permanent collection sites and several dozen temporary/special event collection sites registered with E-Cycle Wisconsin. The number of collection sites increased by 68 percent between February 2010 – the very start of the program – and October 2011. Wisconsin ranks second only to California in number of collection site totals among the 15 states with electronic recycling programs, according to a recent survey by the National Center for Electronics Recycling.

“These statistics indicate clear growth and economic activity for the state’s recycling industry,” says Nation.   

Wisconsin’s consumers, businesses and schools are taking advantage of the E-Cycling program to recycle their electronics. During the second year of the program, Wisconsin’s registered collectors took in more than 35 million pounds of electronics waste, one of the highest rates among states with electronics recycling laws. Of the 35 million pounds, about 1.5 million came from schools.

A typical older desktop computer and a CRT monitor weigh approximately 60 pounds combined.  The two components contain roughly:

• 15 pounds of glass
• 14 pounds of plastic
• 12 pounds of iron
• 8 pounds of aluminum
• 4 pounds of copper
• 4 pounds of lead
• 1 pound of zinc

“With recyclers and collectors seeing more business, and manufacturers streamlining costs, e-waste recycling has been a win-win across the state economy,” Nation says.

More information about the products covered under the e-waste law and a list of collection sites is available at

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/wm/publications/anewpub/wa1559.pdf