Jun 6 - Californian E-Waste Program Brings in 1 Billion Pounds
One and a half empire state buildings, 150,000 Hummers, 3,500 blue whales. However you want to quantify it, each of these descriptions accurately visualizes the billion pounds of e-waste California has diverted from landfills thanks to the state’s e-waste collection program that took effect in 2005. 
However, despite the seemingly impressive numbers, critics of California’s e-waste program remain skeptical. A Mercury News article highlights two of the programs shortcomings:
1. In California, recycling programs are paid for by the consumer as an added fee to certain electronic products, rather than a direct expense of the manufacturer.
2. The state’s e-waste law does not include products such as VCRs and printers, often leaving them to be exported outside the country and dismantled without regards to proper health code regulations.
CAW is currently supporting two bills in the legislature; one is aimed at strengthening the current e-waste law and punishing violators (AB 794), and anoher is geared towards reducing the amount of e-waste exported outside the country (AB 960).
To read more about these bills, click the links above.
To read the full Mercury News article, click here.