PROVIDENCE – The state would “establish a manufacturer-financed system for the collection, recycling and reuse” of old computers and other consumer electronic waste, to protect the environment and reduce the volume of waste at the state Central Landfill in Johnston, under a measure now before the R.I. General Assembly.
The measure – the Electronic Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling Act (H7880 and S2631), filed Feb. 26 by Rep. Arthur “Art” Handy, D-Cranston, a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, and Sen. V. Susan “Sue” Sosnowski, D-Block Island and South Kingstown, chair of the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee – also calls on the state to “encourage the design of covered electronic products that are less toxic, more durable and more recyclable.”
It would apply to new personal laptop and desktop computers; computer monitors; television sets, whether cathode-ray-tube or non-CRT-based; and any TV or video display with a screen four inches or larger (diagonally) that contains a circuit board. Retail store checkout terminals and cash registers would be exempted, as would computer servers marketed to professional users, under the measure’s current wording.
The legislation would bar non-complying manufacturers from offering covered products in the state, and forbid retailers from selling new electronic equipment from non-complying manufacturers. To help ensure compliance, each covered item sold in the state would be required to prominently bear the manufacturer’s name.
The R.I. Department of Environmental Management would publish an annual list of companies in compliance, for which manufacturers would be required to register each year by Sept. 1, at a cost of $5,000. At the time of registration, each company would provide a list of all brands it makes, sells or imports for sale in Rhode Island. All brands would be considered complying until the publication of the first such list.
Rhode Island residents generate 7,500 tons of electronic waste each year, yet only 75 tons per year or 1 percent of that is handled by the R.I. Resource Recycling Corporation, Clean Water Action said. Although the level of e-waste recycling has increased over the years, it still amounts to less than 2 percent of the total, the environmental nonprofit said.
“With the new federal rule requiring all TV signals to switch to digital in just over a year, we can expect even more televisions to be thrown in the trash,” Sheila Dormody, Rhode Island director of Clean Water Action, said in a statement. “If the General Assembly doesn’t require manufactures to cover the recycling costs this session, taxpayers will have to foot the bill for all of that toxic trash.”
But, she added, “When manufacturers are responsible for their waste, it creates a market incentive for them to reduce their costs by eliminating hazardous materials and designing products to be more durable, less toxic, and easier to recycle.”
The Handy-Sosnowski measure “calls on manufacturers to be responsible for the life-cycle impacts of their
products by taking them back for recycling,” Dormody said. The measure – endorsed by Clean Water Action – is co-sponsored by Reps. Bruce J. Long, Peter L. Lewiss, Edith H. Ajello and Deborah A. Fellela and Sens. Joshua Miller, John C. Revens Jr., Kevin A. Breene and Leo R. Blais.
It has been referred to the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee, which has slated a hearing for Wednesday, April 2, and the House Finance Committee, which weighed the measure last Wednesday but has continued its hearing to a later date.
Nine states, including Connecticut, already have passed legislation requiring manufacturers to defray the costs of collecting and recycling electronic waste, Clean Water Action said, adding: “Like batteries, these electronics are safe to use, but when they are disposed, they can leak toxic chemicals like lead, mercury and cadmium into groundwater and the atmosphere.”
Additional information on the R.I. General Assembly, including the House and Senate daily calendars and listings of measures introduced each day, is available at rilin.state.ri.us.
For information about other state e-waste legislation, or about the nationwide digital conversion deadline of Feb. 17, 2009, when U.S. TV stations will stop broadcasting analog signals, visit www.ComputerTakeBack.com.
This legislation appears to lack an incentive for the consumer to return the computer. When one wants to dispose of an old laptop he’s just as likely to smash it in pieces and put it out with the trash.
It would seem much more sensible to charge a refundable amount upon purchase which could be redeemed only when the item is properly returned.
People throw stuff in the dump because (1) it’s easy, (2) facilities are not readily available, (3) they perceive no immediate and personal benefit.
This legislation does little to address these issues. This is not a problem with manufacturers but with people.
Perhaps the State should reach out to companies that are in the business of recycling electronics to locate in RIRRC”s industrial park. Unfortunately the truth is that there are plenty of real taxpaying businesses that could be in business recycling what we throw away as trash but it is the State being in “business” that prevents this from happening.