The Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee this week issued a report this week on the issue of electronics waste recycling, including potential draft legislation on the topic.

The report provides an overview of the current status of legislative proposals related to e-waste regulation; a summary of the expert testimony heard during a Committee hearing last October, a summary of the types of e-waste programs that have been established in other states, a set of consensus point or recommendations for moving forward on e-waste recycling in Pennsylvania and draft legislation based on other states e-waste programs.

Two approaches to e-waste recycling where outlined in the report: producer responsibility where manufactures pay for collection, transportation, recycling and Advance Recovery Fee where consumers pay a fee at retail when they purchase electronics. Recyclers are then reimbursed by the state.

The Committee made a series of recommendations in the report—

· Any new legislative effort should continue to allow partnerships on e-waste recycling to benefit non-profit organizations;

· Focus should be on computer components since they can render profit;

· Encourage relationship between private sector computer manufactures and retailers and place the burden on manufactures to use less toxic materials that are easier to recycle;

· System should comply with federal, state and local laws;

· Fee should not be imposed on consumers but program should still be convenient to them.(free mail in disposal, staffed collection sites, periodic collection events, etc...);

· Retailers required to sell goods from participating manufactures;

· Manufactures must establish a free program to recycle their own computer products;

· Program needs to allow manufactures flexibility in design and implementation of e-waste recycling program while simultaneously requiring robust collection and reporting of information on results achieved;

· Manufactures need to establish “orphan waste” program to collect old computer components made by companies that no longer exist in the Commonwealth;

· Manufactures must submit programs to the Department of Environmental Protection;

· DEP should publish list of “approved manufacturers” and maintain a website with this list;

· DEP should report to General Assembly annually and should be responsible for enforcing the law and educating the public about the benefits of the program.

A critical element to the legislation, the Committee noted, is each manufacturer has to determine how it will comply with the legislation. Failure to comply will lead to fines and penalties.

E-waste is fastest growing U.S. waste and without change the disposal rates will increase. Although government should play a role in e-waste recycling, the system should not require new government programs or bureaucracies.

Although e-waste is currently on the state level agenda, the report said, a federal program could provide uniformity and preemption could occur if a national program was created that meets the intent of this legislation.

A copy of the report is available online.

The Joint Committee chair is Rep. Scott Hutchinson (R-Venango) and the vice-chair is Sen. Ray Musto (D-Luzerne).

7/4/2008