Legislation

Illinois is set to put a legislative Band-Aid on the state's e-scrap program, requiring electronics manufacturers to collect and recycle more material in coming years. Passed unanimously by both the state House of Representatives and Senate, HB 1455 would require manufacturers to collect and recycle a combined 23,300 tons of e-scrap in 2015 and 24,800 tons in 2016 and 2017. That's up from the 21,102 tons they

The Texas Legislature's serious consideration of a law mandating take-back and recycling for all household batteries sends a signal to other states considering the same, an advocate for the bill says. "If conservative Republicans in Texas are advocating for battery recycling, legislatures all across the country have the green light to do this," Robin Schneider, executive director of the Texas Campaign for the Environment, told E-Scrap News.

Minnesota is the latest state to consider updating its e-scrap recycling law.

On March 4, a bill was introduced to state lawmakers, proposing to amend the structure used to determine e-scrap collection requirements for equipment manufacturers.

The Illinois Senate has passed a resolution pushing the Basel Action Network and the e-Stewards Leadership Council to approve a petition from Kuusakoski Recycling that would allow the firm to store treated CRT glass at a landfill and count it as recycling.

The 8-page resolution, which can be viewed here, was authored by Sen. David Koehler, a Democrat, and Sen.

Elected officials in Illinois are mulling an amendment to the state's e-scrap legislation that would lead to higher manufacturer recycling goals and protections for local governments.

Introduced by Rep. Emily McAsey, a Democrat representing Illinois' 85th District, the legislation picked up four chief co-sponsors in recent weeks following a reading in the Illinois House Environmental Committee.

In its annual release of OEM collection obligations, the state of New Jersey made a significant announcement regarding CRT management.

According to a letter sent out to electronics manufacturers and obtained by E-Scrap News, the state's e-scrap program will not allow OEMs to fulfill 2014 collection goals by sending CRT glass for processing as alternative daily cover (ADC).

Want evidence of how difficult it is to craft effective statewide laws for the rapidly evolving e-scrap landscape? Just look to New Jersey and the collection quagmire that's unfolded there.

According to a state official and various e-scrap stakeholders in the Garden State, materials recovered under the state's e-cycling law have piled up at some collection sites in recent months, in large part because industry consolidation and the ongoing CRT dilemma have sparked major funding deficits when it comes to moving material downstream.

The 11th annual E-Scrap Conference — held this week in Orlando, Florida — concluded with a debate on the pros and cons of potential national legislation on electronics recycling. Eric Harris, ISRI director of government and international affairs, argued the bill as currently written would be a burden on processors and impede the growth of the scrap recycling industry.

A U.S. ban on the export of some types of e-scrap to developing countries could create as many as 42,000 new jobs — at least according to a new study commissioned by the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling.

The study, which was conducted by DSM Environmental Services, Inc., surveyed current CAER member companies and estimated employment at 6,850, with a payroll of approximately $250 million.

Even though it has made significant environmental health and safety improvements over the last several years, persistent complaints regarding UNICOR's e-scrap processing operations have now prompted new federal legislation targeting the company.

House Resolution 3634, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R — Michigan), would eliminate the mandatory source preference currently enjoyed by Federal Prison Industries, Inc.