Waste Electronics: A Growing Problem Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board presentation to the...

Waste Electronics:A Growing Problem

Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board presentation to the

Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee of the

Association of Minnesota Counties

September 18, 2003

What’s the Problem?

TVs and Computer Monitors Contain Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs)

CRTs are the largest source of lead in Minnesota’s garbage

Backlog of e-waste TVs = > 3.5 million in MN homes Computer Monitors => 2 million in MN homes and businesses

Growing Waste Stream 500,000 TVs sold in MN annually 400,000 – 500,000 computer monitors sold annually

Few disposal options available to residents

What’s a Cathode Ray Tube?

A vacuum tube in which images are produced when an electron beam strikes a phosphorescent surface

German scientist Karl Braun originally developed the CRT in 1897

Requires lead to shield users from X-rays

The Insides of a CRT

Why is the lead in CRTs a problem? Lead is in the phosphorescent coating of the

tube - fused between 2 pieces of glass, so an unbroken CRT is relatively safe

But crushing CRT glass releases solid lead into the environment

Lead in the funnel and face plate glass - does not leach readily

Lead in the “frit” which joins the face plate glass to the funnel glass leaches readily when subjected to TCLP test

How should CRTs be managed?

Should NOT be landfilled Should NOT be sent to Waste-to-Energy

Facilities Should be recycled

Component parts of CRTs can be recycled: glass, lead, other materials

Where are Waste Electronic Products Going Now?

Lot’s of old TVs and computers stored in homes (check your basement!)

Current Under-developed “System” Privately-Operated Collection Facilities - limited Government Sponsored (Metro) - limited

Hennepin County and Minneapolis County and Municipal Event Collections

Manufacturer-Sponsored Programs - limited Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, IBM, Dell, Gateway

Also - illegal dumping and abandoned warehouses

It’s Costly to Recycle End-of-life Electronics Today

Separate collection, or drop off

Labor-intensive disassembly required

Shipment of components to other parts of the country for recycling

Proposed Solution: Shared Responsibility

Trend: Rapid technological advances => more electronic waste

Trend: Less governmental involvement and governmental funding

Common Sense Solution: Shared responsibility with manufacturers, consumers, and government

Legislative Product Stewardship Efforts

Minnesota National Other Countries

Minnesota CRT Prohibition

2003 Session: Prohibition passes

Effective July 1, 2005, a person may not place in mixed municipal solid waste an electronic product containing a cathode-ray tube.

Product Stewardship:State Initiatives

24 States have introduced legislation

States with Bans Massachusetts California Maine

Minnesota!

National Initiative

National Electronic Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) Officially launched in June 2001 Purpose: Seek industry participation in the collection,

transportation, and recycling of waste electronics Minnesota has 2 representatives participating in

NEPSI: Sherry Enzler, representing the Mn OEA Commissioner Jim Kordiak, representing the

SWMCB

Why not wait for a national solution?

Best case scenario Voluntary agreement through NEPSI by end of 2003 Will likely require Federal legislation to implement 2 years to get legislation; 2 years to start-up May be in place by 2008?

Other Countries Pursuing Product Stewardship

Japan First major economy to adopt regulations mandating the recycling of

discarded electronic products (effective in 2001) Consumers pay the direct costs of transporting and recycling at the

point of recycling; manufacturers provide hauling and recycling facilities European Union

European Parliament passed legislation that will require manufacturers to take back their electronic products when consumers discard them (effective in 2006)

Requires producers to bear the cost of collecting and recycling their discarded electronic products from citizens.

Mandates a timetable for phasing out most toxic substances in electronic products

Canada Pending provincial legislation Voluntary industry group underway

Local Government, on the front lines, can’t wait until 2008!

Demand for recycling solutions is growing….

Growing Threat of Illegal Disposal…

Do citizens want recycling options? If you offer, they will come…

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Mpls curbside began

Hennepin County Consumer Electronics Program History

Not Just a Metro Problem...

E-waste Collected in Duluth, Mn

E-waste ending up in China

Proposed Language For Resolutions and Legislative Platforms

[agency / organization] supports legislation regarding management of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) that incorporates manufacturer responsibility, reliable and convenient collection options, responsible recycling of CRTs, a mechanism to address the backlog of CRTs, and a preference for advance recycling fees without relying on local government for management of CRTs, effective July 1, 2005.