Once they were coveted technological marvels. But now so many outdated computers, television sets and other pieces of electronic equipment just get thrown into the trash in New York that the City Council is considering what would be one of the toughest laws in the nation to force manufacturers to take the discarded devices back.
A bill is expected to be introduced today that would require producers to collect and recycle the electronic devices if they want to be allowed to continue selling them in the city.
Electronic devices are a mounting concern because they can contain potentially toxic substances like lead, mercury and chromium. The federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 70 percent of the heavy metals in landfills leach from electronic equipment.
A traditional computer monitor can contain as much as four pounds of lead that can be released if the screen is shattered, Council officials said.
Although electronic waste now accounts for less than 1 percent of the city's residential trash, officials say they think that number will grow dramatically because many old computers and other pieces of equipment are being hoarded in basements and closets and will eventually be discarded. Officials say that only about 10 percent of this growing mound of electronic waste is recycled.
"This bill is an environmentally sound way to handle the explosion of 'e-waste' by imposing producer responsibility for what they sell," said Councilman Michael E. McMahon of Staten Island, the chairman of the Sanitation Committee, and a sponsor of the bill along with Speaker Gifford Miller and Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn.
Mr. McMahon, who said he had three old computers in his office closet and two more in the attic at home, said that recycling tons of electronic equipment would also save New Yorkers money on disposal costs.
He said the new law would be an integral part of the solid waste management plan that the city is putting together. But the new law is unlikely to be passed without a fight from manufacturers and retailers, who agree that something must be done about old computers but worry that it will be impossible to comply with a patchwork of laws. Four states have already passed legislation, and bills have been introduced in more than 20 others.
"We actually support a recycling initiative by government but in our view, it should be a national standard," said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents manufacturers and some retailers.
Mr. Shapiro said the proposed New York City law seemed "pretty onerous," and he said he was surprised that it did not force retailers to share responsibility with manufacturers for taking back outdated electronic devices, which would be similar to the current system for recycling beverage bottles.
But unlike the bottle law, which imposes a five-cent deposit per container, the new electronics bill specifically prohibits manufacturers from imposing any fees on consumers to cover the cost of recycling.
Mark A. Izeman, a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council who helped draft the electronics recycling bill, said forcing manufacturers to take responsibility for their products, as they do in Europe, would encourage them to use fewer toxins and to design devices that could be more easily reused.
"Right now, manufacturers have no financial incentive to design products that facilitate reuse," Mr. Izeman said.
Under the proposed law, manufacturers would have to submit a plan for collecting and recycling old equipment to the Sanitation Department by 2008. By 2010, the manufacturers would have to collect the equivalent of 30 percent of the equipment they sell.
To help meet those goals, manufacturers that donate usable second-hand computers or other equipment to schools or nonprofit groups would get extra credits. Manufacturers would also be responsible for handling computers made by companies that no longer exist.
Some computer makers already run their own recycling programs. Dell gives every buyer of a new computer the option of mailing back an old computer free, regardless of the maker. A Dell spokeswoman, Caroline B. Dietz, said that for a $10 fee, the company is also willing to accept an old computer from someone who is not buying a new one.
From The New York Times (registration required)
A bill is expected to be introduced today that would require producers to collect and recycle the electronic devices if they want to be allowed to continue selling them in the city.
Electronic devices are a mounting concern because they can contain potentially toxic substances like lead, mercury and chromium. The federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 70 percent of the heavy metals in landfills leach from electronic equipment.
A traditional computer monitor can contain as much as four pounds of lead that can be released if the screen is shattered, Council officials said.
Although electronic waste now accounts for less than 1 percent of the city's residential trash, officials say they think that number will grow dramatically because many old computers and other pieces of equipment are being hoarded in basements and closets and will eventually be discarded. Officials say that only about 10 percent of this growing mound of electronic waste is recycled.
"This bill is an environmentally sound way to handle the explosion of 'e-waste' by imposing producer responsibility for what they sell," said Councilman Michael E. McMahon of Staten Island, the chairman of the Sanitation Committee, and a sponsor of the bill along with Speaker Gifford Miller and Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn.
Mr. McMahon, who said he had three old computers in his office closet and two more in the attic at home, said that recycling tons of electronic equipment would also save New Yorkers money on disposal costs.
He said the new law would be an integral part of the solid waste management plan that the city is putting together. But the new law is unlikely to be passed without a fight from manufacturers and retailers, who agree that something must be done about old computers but worry that it will be impossible to comply with a patchwork of laws. Four states have already passed legislation, and bills have been introduced in more than 20 others.
"We actually support a recycling initiative by government but in our view, it should be a national standard," said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents manufacturers and some retailers.
Mr. Shapiro said the proposed New York City law seemed "pretty onerous," and he said he was surprised that it did not force retailers to share responsibility with manufacturers for taking back outdated electronic devices, which would be similar to the current system for recycling beverage bottles.
But unlike the bottle law, which imposes a five-cent deposit per container, the new electronics bill specifically prohibits manufacturers from imposing any fees on consumers to cover the cost of recycling.
Mark A. Izeman, a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council who helped draft the electronics recycling bill, said forcing manufacturers to take responsibility for their products, as they do in Europe, would encourage them to use fewer toxins and to design devices that could be more easily reused.
"Right now, manufacturers have no financial incentive to design products that facilitate reuse," Mr. Izeman said.
Under the proposed law, manufacturers would have to submit a plan for collecting and recycling old equipment to the Sanitation Department by 2008. By 2010, the manufacturers would have to collect the equivalent of 30 percent of the equipment they sell.
To help meet those goals, manufacturers that donate usable second-hand computers or other equipment to schools or nonprofit groups would get extra credits. Manufacturers would also be responsible for handling computers made by companies that no longer exist.
Some computer makers already run their own recycling programs. Dell gives every buyer of a new computer the option of mailing back an old computer free, regardless of the maker. A Dell spokeswoman, Caroline B. Dietz, said that for a $10 fee, the company is also willing to accept an old computer from someone who is not buying a new one.
From The New York Times (registration required)
