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WYDEN-TALENT E-WASTE LEGISLATION MOVES FORWARD
WITH KEY SENATE COMMITTEE HEARING
Senators testify today at Environment and Public
Works Committee hearing
on their plan to create a national e-waste recycling program
July 26, 2005
Washington, DC – Legislation
sponsored by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.)
to combat the growing nationwide problem of electronic waste received
a hearing by the Environment and Public Works Committee, a key
step toward the bill being enacted into law. Wyden and Talent
testified at today’s hearing on their bipartisan Electronic
Waste Recycling and Promotion and Consumer Protection Act of 2005,
which would provide consumer and industry tax incentives to create
the first-ever nationwide e-waste recycling infrastructure. The
Wyden-Talent proposal would make it more convenient and cost-effective
for American consumers to recycle computers, computer monitors,
laptop computers and televisions, which typically contain a number
of hazardous toxins including lead, mercury and cadmium.
“The typical home or office
computer contains about 14 pounds of plastic, 4 pounds of lead,
8 and a half pounds of aluminum, more than 12 pounds of iron,
half a pound of nickel, and other environmentally harmful chemicals,”
said Wyden. “To keep a hazardous stew of toxic e-waste from
poisoning water supplies, people and the environment, our legislation
aims to help America put less electronic trash into the landfill,
and more into the recycling bin.”
“We want to provide an
incentive for people to recycle electronic waste and create an
infrastructure that makes the process as convenient and cost-effective
as possible,” said Talent. “This is a common sense
idea that will help protect our land, air and water from toxins
such as lead, mercury and other hazardous materials contained
in electronics.”
Some experts estimate that
more than 2.2 million tons of obsolete computers, televisions
and other electronic equipment are discarded in American landfills
annually, with that number expected to grow in the coming years.
The Wyden-Talent e-waste recycling
legislation would:
• Establish an $8 per
unit tax credit for companies that recycle at least 5,000 display
screens or computer system units per year.
• Establish a $15 tax
credit for consumers who recycle their old computers and TVs,
provided they use qualified recyclers.
• Prohibit the disposal
of any electronic equipment containing a display screen greater
than four inches or any computer system unit in a municipal solid
waste landfill, beginning three years after the bill is passed.
This provision is contingent upon the EPA Administrator finding
that a majority of U.S. households have reasonable access to e-waste
recycling.
• Modify the EPA’s
Universal Waste Rule to classify display screens and system units
as “universal wastes” to allow for easier collection,
processing, transportation and recycling.
• Require federal executive
agencies to ensure that every display screen or system unit procured
by the government is recovered and recycled.
• Direct the EPA Administrator
to study and make recommendations to Congress on the feasibility
of establishing a nationwide recycling program that would preempt
any state plan, within one year.
Currently, some states are developing
e-waste recycling programs; however, no such program exists on
a national level. A unified, national program may ultimately be
desirable for consumers because manufacturers and retailers frequently
have a difficult time adhering to different standards under various
state laws. Under the current system, states that do not enact
their own recycling laws can become dumping grounds for those
that ban e-waste disposal.
A number of groups have expressed
their support for the approach taken in the Wyden-Talent e-waste
recycling bill, including the National Recycling Coalition, the
Environmental Technology Council, the Consumer Electronics Retailers
Coalition, Waste Management Corporation, Hewlett Packard Corporation
and Intel Corporation.