A bill that seeks to establish a statewide system to collect and recycle a wide range of obsolete electronic equipment passed the Minnesota House on April 24. A similar bill is now working its way through the Minnesota Senate.
The bill, HF 854, was sponsored by Rep. Brita Sailer. It passed by a vote of 112-21.
The state Senate has virtually the same bill, and there is the expectation that the Senate may vote on the bill within the next week.
If the bill is passed by the Minnesota State Senate it will then go to Governor Tim Pawlenty’s desk where he could sign it into law.
The bill calls for manufacturer that sells electronic equipment in the state to collect and recycle an amount proportional to the weight of the products sold in the state during the previous year. (The requirement is set at 60 percent of the weight during the first program year, increasing to 80 percent thereafter.) The type of products manufacturers can collect to meet this target include computers, television sets, CPUs, printers and keyboards; fax machines; and DVD players.
The bill also requires manufacturers to pay a $5,000 base fee during the first program year, reduced to $2,500 annually thereafter, plus a variable amount ranging between 30 cents and 50 cents for each pound short of their target. Manufacturers who recycle less than 50 percent of their target pay 50 cents for each pound under the target; those reaching 90 percent of their recycling target pay 30 cents per pound. Manufacturers who surpass their target earn credits that can be used in future years or sold to other manufacturers.
After the administrative costs of the program are covered, the revenues raised from manufacturers' fees will be distributed by the Pollution Control Agency through contracts with counties and private haulers outside the 11-county metropolitan area.
To balance the lower population densities and greater travel distances in Greater Minnesota, recycled electronic devices collected in those counties are counted at 1.5 times their actual weight.