E-Waste Recycling Bill Advances in California

A two-year push to develop a comprehensive electronics recycling program in California recently passed the California Assembly Appropriations Committee. Senate Bill 20, sponsored by Byron Sher, has now been sent to the Assembly Floor. If it passes there, it will return to the California State Senate, where the amendments to the bill must be approved.

In a compromise that has brought support for the bill from elements of the manufacturing community, SB 20 will for the first time ensure that funds are available to cover the full cost of collecting and recycling television sets and computers when they become obsolete. 

SB 20 will require that a recycling fee be assessed on the sales of all televisions, and computers at the time of purchase to fund cost-free and convenient collection and recycling of e-waste when the items are no longer wanted. The initial fee, effective April 1, 2004, is set between $6 and $10 based on device size. The fee may be adjusted in the future based on the actual cost of collecting and recycling the devices.

According to Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, this year’s bill would “effectively prohibit the export of toxic e-waste to developing nations. It will require manufacturers to documents and report on efforts to redesign their products to reduce toxic materials use recycled materials and generally design for recycling. Additionally, the bill will prohibit the sale of devices after 2007 that contain specified types and levels of toxic material.”