New Jersey legislators debate updates to state’s electronics recycling law

According to an article in the Burlington County Times, legislators in New Jersey continue to debate updates to the state's electronics recycling law in response to complaints from recyclers and county governments that it is no longer effective.

New Jersey’s current law mandates manufacturers of televisions and other electronic devices to pay for the collection, transportation and recycling of their share of end-of-life equipment.

According to the article, in 2015 television manufacturers were assigned to pay for the collection and disposal of more than 55 million pounds of electronics. However, TVs containing cathode ray tubes (CRTs) have become more difficult to recycle because they no longer are being made in the United States.

“Manufacturers are paying less to contract with recycling contractors, and some have stopped processing the materials collected after they reach their state-imposed quota, causing a backlog of materials at collection sites,” the Burlington County Times writes.

Some recyclers say they are losing money on televisions and other items and no longer will process those collected at county or municipal drop-off sites without charging a fee, the article reports.

To address these issues, New Jersey lawmakers introduced legislation in June to update the state's electronics recycling law by changing the way manufacturers' recycling obligations are calculated. Rather than basing the pounds assigned to each company on returns, the updated legislation would base these fees on a manufacturers' market share, according to the newspaper.

While the bill advanced out of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee in June, Chairman Bob Smith held another hearing on the measure July 20 so stakeholders could offer their thoughts on more potential changes.

According to the Burlington County Times, recyclers in the state pushed for a stronger law similar to one in Connecticut, where the government determines the price recycling contractors are paid by product manufacturers.

"The spirit of the law is good. We all want to keep electronics out of the landfills, but we need a sustainable program," Chris Massaro, chief executive of Monmouth Wire and Computer Recycling, Trenton Falls, New Jersey, told the newspaper. "The bill as written doesn't create a sustainable program."

However, the newspaper reports, representatives from electronics manufacturers said the bill was too broad. They suggested quotas should be focused on the products containing CRTs.

Smith told the Burlington County Times that the legislation would likely be posted in September or October.