Senators Propose PC Recycling Fee

A bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Byron Sher, California, would establish a state program to recycle CRT (cathode-ray tube) devices including computer monitors and television sets. The bill sets July 1, 2003, as the starting date by which every retailer selling CRT devices in the state must begin collecting an as yet unspecified fee from consumers that would go toward funding the recycling program.

A second bill authored by Democratic Sen. Gloria Romero, also of California, aims to set up a program to recover, reuse and recycle what it defines as hazardous electronic scrap. Under this proposal, starting Jan. 1, 2004, manufacturers would be required to label a wide range of electronic devices as hazardous and to set up a system for taking back obsolete devices, or pay a fee to the state.

The Romero legislation encompasses virtually every high-tech product a consumer might buy, including computer and video monitors, desktop and notebook PCs, and handheld gadgets. Those devices contain varying degrees of substances, such as lead and mercury, that the bill describes as a "persistent biolaccumulative toxin," meaning that they gather in the body and can pose health risks.

The California proposals are among the first such governmental actions in the United States and are significant because of the state's size and the many tech companies located there. European Union nations and Japan also have enacted or are debating similar legislation.

Health fears are part of the impetus behind such actions, as is the sheer volume of electronic goods poised for a final trip to the junkyard. For example, the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) estimates that state residents have stockpiled more than 6 million obsolete monitors and TV sets in their homes.

"Electronic scrap represents one of the fastest growing and most problematic components of California's waste stream," the Romero bill reads, echoing what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said about e-scrap across the country.

Spurred by these concerns, manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, Sony Electronics and IBM have launched recycling and reuse programs in the United States and elsewhere, often charging consumers a fee of between $10 and $35. Retailers Best Buy and Staples also have conducted product take-back programs on a small scale.

The efforts, still somewhat tentative and in their early stages, have been viewed in a positive light by many government agencies and industry observers.

"It truly seems the industry itself is recognizing they have issues to work with and is actively engaging in trying to find answers to those issues," Michael Paparian, a member of the CIWMB, says.

Environmental groups take a harsher view, saying that the high-tech industry hasn't done nearly enough and passes off costs onto consumers that should be picked up by the manufacturers themselves.