Legislation to establish a first in the nation recycling system for electronics waste passed the California General Assembly earlier this week by a vote of 42 to 29. The bill, SB 20, calls for the recycling of hazardous electronic waste such as TVs and computers whose cathode ray tubes – picture tubes – contain lead and other dangerous materials.
The bill calls for the following:
Establishes a fund to pay for the safe recycling of e-waste, a $6 - $10 fee paid at the point of sale;
Requires producers of TVs, computers and other covered items to phase hazardous materials out of their manufacturing process; and
Requires producers to report bi-annually on their efforts to reduce hazardous materials and increase recyclability of their products.
Prohibits the export of e-waste to developing nations unless such items will be recycled with at least the same degree of safety as would be required in California.
“This is one of the most important environmental bills of the year,” said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, a state-wide recycling advocacy group that sponsored the bill. “We need to provide real and useable alternatives to people who might otherwise illegally dump their obsolete items in landfills or alongside roads and streets where they risk contaminating our groundwater with lead and other dangerous pollutants.
Sher noted that the fee of between $6-$10 is less than the recycling service fee of between $20-$50 per unit many of the manufacturers charge.
“This bill will recycle thousands more than are being recycled now and at a far lower cost,” Sher notes