July 16 - NY City's E-Waste Law Producing Positive Results
New York’s e-waste law, which was implemented in April, 2011, has produced many positive results, according to a recent report by the Product Stewardship Institute to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Among the benefits: a 77% increase in e-waste collection sites, and 44 million pounds of scrap electronics collected.
The report also includes several recommendations for improving e-waste collection in the state, according to a story in Waste & Recycling News.
The increase in electronics recycling has helped New York's e-waste recyclers grow, and brought new recyclers into the New York market, creating jobs and adding to the state's tax base, according to Andrew Radin, chair of the New York Product Stewardship Council (NYPSC).
"At the same time, municipalities have experienced significant cost savings by accessing free recycling through manufacturer programs, and by avoiding disposal costs," Radin said in a statement.
California has successfully curbed both the illegal disposal and export of toxic electronics through California’s Electronic Waste Recovery Act, which was implemented in 2005. It provides incentives for recyclers who collect and recycle covered devices including televisions, computer monitors and laptops.
That's why CAW supports AB 1022 (Eggman), which would help increase recycling rates even more by expanding the market for CRT glass, which has become obsolete in consumer electronics due to new technologies including LCD, LED and plasma. AB 1022 would provide market-based incentives to in-state recyclers and manufacturers to utilize CRT glass in their products.
The policy would create market incentive payments for recyclers to help offset cost of separating out lead from the CRT Glass, while manufacturer payments will incentivize manufacturers to use the cleaned CRT glass over other materials.
Find out more about recycling e-waste.