Guam Begins New Recycling, Disposal Program

The Guam Environmental Protection Agency has announced that its advance disposal fee law takes effect the first of this month.

According to Public Law 27-38, a range of products, including cars and tires, will be assessed a fee.

"This new statute should enable us to make significant strides toward reducing the number of abandoned vehicles, tires, and appliances that end up discarded on the side of the road or in the boonies," said Guam EPA Administrator Fred M. Castro.

Guam EPA has been working with other key government agencies over the past year, including the Customs and Quarantine Agency and the Guam Economic Development and Commerce Authority, to develop the specific regulations and procedures necessary to implement the law. The law requires the collection of advance disposal fees for goods such as tires, car batteries, and appliances at the time of import to Guam. Fees for automobiles, trucks, and buses are assessed at the time of resale.

Specific fees for items covered by the law are:

Automobiles, trucks, and buses: $200 each

Tires: $3 each

Enameled white goods (appliances) with a volume of 300 to 1,000 cubic inches: $5 each

Enameled white goods (appliances) with a volume over 1,000 cubic inches: $50 each

Batteries for cars, trucks, buses, boats, or heavy equipment: $5 each

Heavy equipment: $300 each

The law gives Guam EPA the authority to contract recycling companies to collect, recycle, and dispose of the items included in the law using the fees collected. A request for proposals for recycling services will be issued later this year, after the recycling fund created by the law accumulates sufficient funds.

Although PL 27-38 includes provisions for a partial refund of fees at the time of disposal, the financial regulations developed by GEDCA propose that refunds be suspended until revenues and final disposal costs can be fully assessed. The financial regulations are pending approval by the Guam Legislature.