When a new law requiring the recycling of worn-out televisions, computers and other electronic products went into effect in New York State on
April 1, 2011, there was some concern that smaller towns would lose out because it only required one collection center per county and one in every population center of 10,000 or more people.
A study performed a year later by the Product Stewardship Institute finds no reason for alarm. In fact, the report says the law has spurred an “expanded, competitive marketplace for e-scrap recycling” in which:
- Residents are finding an increased number of collection sites for electronics, and
- Municipalities are enjoying reduced costs in managing e-scrap recycling programs
In fact, not one of the municipal governments interviewed for the report is still paying a vendor fee for electronics recycling and some are receiving from processors between 4 and 10 cents per pound for scrapped electronic products.
Under the new law, manufacturers of the electronic products pay into fund that underwrites the costs of collecting and recycling the devices at the end of their useful lives.
Read the full story in Recycling Today.
Related environmental news stories:
E-Waste Recycling Access Improves with New York EPR LawNY Department of Environmental Conservation’s E-Waste Recycling website
Green Jobs and Other Benefits of E-waste Recycling (National Geographic)
E-waste legislation a boon for recycling facilities that keep TVs, computers out of landfills
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