Maryland Nears Passage of Computer Recycling Bill

The Maryland General Assembly recently passed a house bill that seeks to boost the recycling market for computers in the state.

House Bill 575, which was passed by the General Assembly last month, now awaits the Governor’s signature before it can become enacted into law. According to Hillary Miller, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of the Environment, the bill is slated to be signed on May 10th.

The bill, sponsored by delegates Morhaim, Bobo, McIntosh, and Montgomery, authorizes a county to address methods for the separate, collection and recycling of computers in a specified recycling plan; establishing the Statewide Computer Recycling Pilot Program by the Maryland Department of the Environment; requiring the Office of Recycling in the Department to administer the Program; and requiring, on or after specified dates, specified computer manufacturers to submit a specified registration and fee.

The effective date for the bill goes is July 1. By Jan. 1, 2006, all companies interested in selling computers (including CPUs and monitors) will have to pay a registration fee of $5,000. In subsequent years any company demonstrating an effective take-back program would then have to pay a $500 registration fee.

Companies that would need to sign up would have to sell at least 1,000 computers, on average, per year.

If the bill is signed into law Maryland will be the third state in the nation to pass a law establishing a recycling program for computer waste.

The bill was first introduced to a committee in early February. It passed the General Assembly by a vote of 46-1.

You can read the unofficial bill text by clicking on the following link – HB 575