BAN Urges States to Action on E-waste

“The NEPSI process may have avoided a complete train wreck, but it remains in a tunnel with only a flicker of light for a serious resolution visible at the end,” Ted Smith of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and a NEPSI delegate, says. “It’s the state governments who are making progress, and they should remain steadfast and move deliberately forward to adopt electronics producer responsibility legislation.”

“So far the electronics industry has refused to offer U.S. consumers the same degree of product stewardship that they have already agreed to in Europe,” Sarah Westervelt of the Basel Action Network, says. “In Europe where there are strong producer responsibility laws, a Sony or Dell has to take back a computer or electronic product free of charge and ensure that it is recycled in a sustainable way.  In the U.S. there is no real industry consensus for a similar model that will ensure that they will internalize end-of-life costs or prohibit export of the waste to developing countries.” 

E-waste is the fastest growing waste problem in the United States. The electronics contain toxic materials that can cause long-term contamination when disposed in landfills. Currently, much of our electronic waste collected for recycling is exported and recycled in squalid and dangerous conditions in countries such as China, as revealed by the globally publicized report and film “Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia,” which was released by Seattle-based Basel Action Network (BAN) and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

Some doubt whether the NEPSI process will reach an agreement or that any agreement will provide incentives for greener products, while banning landfill dumping or the export of hazardous e-waste to developing countries. Adding to this doubt is whether any NEPSI agreement will pass the current Congress. For this reason, many state legislatures are now moving to fill the void. Some form of e-waste legislation has been introduced or prepared in 23 states, with many state bills containing strong manufacturer responsibility provisions similar to what is now law in Europe and Japan. Significantly, California, which historically has led the nation in numerous policy reforms, has introduced a rigorous electronics producer responsibility bill that has widespread bi-partisan support. The bill has already passed the California Senate.

In Washington State, where the recent NEPSI meeting took place, similar legislation was introduced in Olympia earlier this year and will be taken up again in the 2004 session. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Cooper (D-Edmonds) would ban landfill and incineration of e-waste, discourage export and phase-out toxics while making manufacturers bear end-of-life financial responsibility for their products.

“At this juncture there is far more likelihood of success taking place at the state level than at the national level,” David Wood of the GrassRoots Recycling Network says. “It is essential therefore that states forge ahead, assume the driver’s seat and proceed with all due urgency in passing producer responsibility legislation for electronic waste.” 

NEPSI is a multi-stakeholder negotiation drawing together local, state and national government officials, computer and consumer electronics manufacturers and environmental organizations. NEPSI’s goal is to develop a national system, including a viable financing mechanism, “to maximize the collection, reuse and recycling of used electronics, while considering appropriate incentives to design products that facilitate source reduction, reuse and recycling; reduce toxicity; and increase recycled content.”