Indiana became the first state to pass a major electronics recycling law in 2009 as Governor Mitch Daniels signed HB 1589 into law Wednesday, making Indiana the nineteenth state to pass a law creating a statewide e-waste recycling program. Eighteen of these 19 states, including Indiana, have adopted “producer takeback” laws, requiring the manufacturers to pay for the collection and recycling of old products.
The Indiana law is similar to the law passed in 2007 by Minnesota, and requires manufacturers of video display devices (TVs, monitors, and laptops) to collect and recycle 60% by weight of the volume of products they sold in the previous year in Indiana. After the first two years, manufacturers who fail to meet those goals will pay an additional recycling fee for every pound they fall short of their goal.
While the goals are based on sales of video display devices, the program allows consumers, public schools and small businesses to recycle a larger group of products for free, including TVs, computers, laptops, keyboards, printers, fax machines, DVD players, and video cassette recorders. The program begins collection in April 2010.
“With the signing of HB 1589, Indiana has become a leader among states working to regulate electronic waste,” said Carey Hamilton, Executive Director of the Indiana Recycling Coalition (IRC). Hamilton went on to say, “Because of this law, more of our electronic waste will be safely recycled as opposed to land filled, incinerated or exported. We also believe that HEA 1589 will lead to the creation of new green jobs, including sorting, processing, and recycling jobs in Indiana.”
The Indiana Recycling Coalition has championed producer responsibility in Indiana as a practical and effective way to reduce electronic waste. They presented this issue to the legislature’s Environmental Quality Service Council in October 2008, and led support for the bill throughout the session.
Barbara Kyle, National Coordinator of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, said, “We are already seeing that states which adopted strong laws that include collection goals or convenient recycling standards are getting excellent participation from consumers, who are bringing back their old products in record numbers.”
E-waste recycling laws are under consideration in several states, including Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Colorado, Kentucky, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Utah. Hawaii, Missouri, and Texas are considering laws that would add televisions to their current laws, which only cover computer recycling.
The states which have passed e-waste recycling laws are:
2003 California
2004 Maine
2005 Maryland
2006 Washington
2007 Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, North Carolina
2008 New Jersey, New York City, Oklahoma, Virginia, West Virginia, Missouri, Hawaii, Rhode Island Illinois and Michigan
2009 Indiana
Earlier this week, Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) was praised for instituting the ‘highest standard‘ on e-waste, banning the export of non-working electronics to developing countries.
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