Proposed Consumer Fee Could Fund Minnesota E-Recycling

State lawmakers consider “advance recycling fee” included in the purchase of TVs and computers.

Minnesota state lawmakers are considering including an “advance recycling fee” that consumers would pay when purchasing TVs and computers that would help finance the collection and recycling of consumer electronics, according to an Associated Press report in the Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minn.).

 

The legislation is needed to support an increase in recycling following a law signed in 2003 banning consumer electronics that contain lead and other toxic metals from Minnesota landfills, according to the report.

 

The ban goes into effect July 1, 2005.

 

According to the report, the proposal is based on a California plan where retailers take responsibility for collecting the fee instead of a new state agency.

 

The fee could raise up to $15 million per year. Retailers would keep 5 percent for their own recycling programs.