No Respite Seen in State E-Waste Legislation Next Year

Legislators haven’t paid much heed to the issue of analog TV sets flooding the waste stream after the digital transition - a topic raised at the Seattle meeting -- Bird told us. But local govts. could bring pressure on state legislatures. Sego Jackson, principal planner for Snohomish County (Wash.), said local govts. are “absolutely concerned” about a possible used analog set glut. TV makers have allayed such fears, including those among members of Congress, by arguing that analog sets will have use in homes even after the digital transition.

Asst. Commerce Secy. Benjamin Wu tried to persuade state lawmakers to let the federal govt. fix the e-waste problem, Bird said. That plea ignored “enormous” differences of opinion among manufacturers and between industry and other stakeholders over issues such as how to fund a recycling infrastructure, he said. The mood among state legislators is that, absent a “consensus, we might as well act. Because if you don’t it’s going to be years before something happened,” Bird said, predicting states will keep pursuing legislative fixes.

The CEA’s argument that federal law, rather a patchwork of state laws, would be the appropriate fix wasn’t convincing because industry couldn’t devise a solution: “We were all looking at them and saying, ‘Where is the agreement?'” Industry will have to pick one of the financing options being considered in the states, he said, or have to settle for a hybrid. He said states need federal-level guidance, but movement in Congress is unlikely without stakeholder consensus: “It’s perhaps better to allow the states to experiment with different ways to see what works, what doesn’t work and why.”

Last year some 28 states considered e-waste legislation, a figure that could repeat next year, Bird said. Cal., Minn., Me., Md. and other states that enacted legislation will be implementing those laws, he said: “We are going to watch that closely to see what problems they confront to be able to share with one another.” Another issue for states, he said, is whether to ban CRTs from landfills. So far discussions with industry and other parties haven’t focused on that factor, he said.

Jackson, who represented local govts. in the EPA- sponsored National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI), said the industry’s case on analog sets has been challenged by environmentalists and others. Even if it’s technically possible to use analog sets after the transition, he said, digital sets will be marketed fiercely: “Industry is going to be promoting the heck out this new digital technology and will be at least inferring to people that their analog TVs are no longer useful, not desirable or old fashioned.” This will send many analog sets into the waste stream, he added.

Jackson said he warned legislators at the NCSL meeting about company lobbyists’ mutating positions, which change by state. “Legislators aren’t being told the same story in each of the states by lobbyists representing the same companies.” Jackson said if industry commits to something in one state, it shouldn’t be allowed to drop that position elsewhere. Firms’ fluctuating stances have resulted in some legislatures asking for less than industry has offered. Many lawmakers have said they will try to track developments in other states via state and local govt. networks, Jackson said. He called congressional e-waste “good conversations” that are unlikely to produce anything for “many, many years.” That’s why states have to move forward “more boldly,” Jackson said, adding that state action will encourage Congress to be more bold. The proposals before Congress were meek, he said, and bear no comparison to what’s happening in Europe.

The CEA doesn’t expect any reduction of state legislative efforts next year because of the congressional hearings, Senior Dir.-Environmental Counsel Parker Brugge said. He said state lawmakers are skeptical that Congress will take action: “That’s why I think states believe part of their role is to push Congress to do something.” But he said he hoped that after the NCSL meeting state legislators have a sense that Congress is serious about fashioning a national solution. He conceded that industry hasn’t reached consensus on the “entire structure” of an e-waste recycling infrastructure. There was agreement, however, on the need for a national solution and for market incentives, including tax concessions, to help establish a recycling infrastructure.

Brugge agreed manufacturers would aggressively market new DTV sets, but said that doesn’t mean purchasers will throw out their old analog sets right away. At a recent Senate Superfund & Waste Management Subcommittee hearing, Ranking Member Boxer (D-Cal.) raised the specter of 90% of the 285 million analog sets being discarded after the transition, resulting in a billion pounds of lead entering the waste stream (CED July 27 p1). Brugge said CEA estimates that only 33.6 million of the 285 million analog sets rely on over-the-air reception. That figure is disputed by broadcasters and others. He said CEA surveys showed that only 22% of those relying on over-the-air transmission say they would buy a new DTV, while 42% would prefer a digital converter.

Asst. Commerce Secy. Wu told us his address to state legislators wasn’t meant to deter them from acting if they believed they needed to, “because it’s a decision they have to make on their own.” He sought only to make them aware of the issues they would confront if they chose to move, he said. He said he told state lawmakers there’s industry consensus on a federal solution and a patchwork of 50 state laws would “cause competitive harm to the industry.” Wu said the Commerce Dept. was set to release its e-waste report early next month.