Congress Studies E-Waste in Shadow Digital Transition

With 3 state laws in place and 23 states putting the topic on their “radar screens,” Gillmor said, the time is ripe for Congress to examine e-waste recycling and decide if a federal solution is warranted. Questions that needed to be tackled, he said, include whether a voluntary industry approach or differing state standards are preferable public policy outcomes and whether economic and environmental “disasters” are waiting to occur.

Rep. Thompson (D-Cal.), who has introduced an e-waste bill, said lack of federal standards subjects business to an unworkable patchwork of state laws. “This might also put many U.S. manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage if they have to juggle multiple state regulations,” he added. Rep. Bono (R-Cal.) said an array of proposed solutions has emerged from the states and all “should remain on the table” as Congress studies the issue. Noting other countries’ e-waste mandates, she said the U.S. need not mirror them. But Congress should consider measures that would help the high-tech industry remain competitive globally, Bono said. Ranking member Solis (D- Cal.) said e-waste is the new hazardous waste “crisis,” with 6 million computers grinding toward obsolescence.

Asked by Gillmor who bears “greatest responsibility” for managing e-waste, Benjamin Wu, Commerce Dept. asst. secy.-technology policy, urged a “balanced approach” in which all stakeholders have a “fair and balanced” role. The issue is complex, he said, and for U.S. firms to remain competitive globally a fee-based approach may not be sustainable. In answer to a question on EPA jurisdiction, EPA Deputy Asst. Administrator Barry Breen said the agency has authority over hazardous waste, but doesn’t list CRTs and cellphones as hazardous. However, there is evidence that computers would fail the toxicology test for hazardous materials, he added. The question, he said, is whether EPA should take an approach that is “collaborative and flexible.”

Govt. decisions on e-waste management and recycling will have environmental impacts and will influence U.S. firms’ stamina and ability to compete globally, Wu said. Quoting International Assn. of Electronics Recyclers projections, he said the next five years will see 3 billion units of CE product scrapped. In the U.S., he said, e-waste comprises 1.5% of municipal waste. “It is a small but fast growing portion.” Some sources estimate about 75% of old electronics are in storage as consumers hoard them, believing they have some value or not knowing how to dispose of them.

All stakeholders should help craft any e-waste solution, Wu said. Citing a Commerce Dept. Technology Administration overview that includes possible financing mechanisms, he said industry has deep concerns about state-level solutions. Hew said industry believes having to deal with multiple national and state laws could “dramatically affect” U.S. electronics and manufacturing, marketing and business models, as well as those of retailers. The industry believes a national solution is required to keep costs down and avoid impeding U.S. firms as they try to compete, Wu said.

EPA’s Breen said in 2003 only 10% of used CE products were recycled, with the rest being stored, dumped in landfills or incinerated. Industry is using less toxic materials, he said, but many products still contain “substances of concern” such as lead, mercury and cadmium.

Californians are “accepting and adopting” an advance recovery fee on computers that can reach $10, said Rosalie Mule of the Cal. Integrated Waste Management Board. “The program is successful in that we are accomplishing our goals of ridding landfills of hazardous materials and illegal dumping of electronics.” Without a national solution, both retailers and manufacturers face hurdles in trying to comply with differing state programs, said Md. Dept. of Environment Secy. Kendl Philbrick. As more citizens demand e-waste recycling, more states will have to pass laws, he added. Philbrick said it would take Maryland years to gauge its new e-waste law’s impact. He said it states should get involved in federal legislative efforts and “share successes and challenges.” Dawn Gallagher, comr. of the Me. Environmental Protection Dept., said Me.’s “shared responsibility” model for e- waste collection and recycling could the “most optimal” model for the nation. If a federal program is adopted, it shouldn’t cost the consumer more. “It should not create a need for a cumbersome and costly new bureaucracy… but should include incentives for manufacturers to design products to maximize the recapture of materials from their products.”