The New York City Council passed groundbreaking legislation last week to institute a city-wide electronics recycling program for the 25,000 tons of discarded electronics the City collects annually, making it the first major municipality in the nation to tackle the rising tide of discarded electronics in the waste stream.
The law, sponsored by 47 council members, requires computer, TV and MP3 manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection of their own electronic products when New Yorkers want to dispose of them.
The measure will save the city money and give manufacturers the incentive to design less toxic and easier-to-recycle products, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
"Every time you turn around there’s a new iPod or iPhone, a new slimmer laptop or a bigger TV enticing you to purchase it," said Kate Sinding, senior attorney for the NRDC. "With the speed at which we upgrade our gadgets these days, it’s no wonder that electronics are the fastest-growing part of our waste stream. But now, with the City’s adoption of a 21st-century recycling measure, New York has found a solution that will undoubtedly become the model for other jurisdictions around the nation."
The law, known as Intro. 104-A, requires companies to begin collecting old equipment in July 2009. Starting in July 2010, the Department of Sanitation will no longer accept electronic products covered in the bill for collection and can fine manufacturers if they fail to submit approvable plans and/or fail to meet specific performance standards in implementing them.
By 2012, manufacturers must take back at least 25% (by weight) of their current sales for recycling or reuse; by 2015 they must collect 45%, and by 2018, manufacturers must collect at least 65% of their current sales.
"We now have a smarter way to deal with old electronics that doesn’t include burning them or burying them in landfills," said Sinding. "And it is a system that both taxpayers and business can get behind. We consumers can now get rid of our electronics in an environmentally responsible way and companies can now recover and reuse valuable materials instead tossing them aside in ways that will come back to haunt us."
Old electronics account for about 40% of the lead found in municipal landfills as well as mercury, cadmium, and other toxic heavy metals in landfills and municipal incinerators, the NRDC says.
Currently, much of New York City’s electronic waste is burned in the Newark incinerator, polluting the air in New York and New Jersey with heavy metals.
The NRDC said Speaker Quinn, chief sponsor Bill de Blasio and Sanitation Committee chair Michael McMahon deserve a great deal of credit for passing this measure, which is expected to be signed into law very quickly by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The new measure also received broad support from major corporations, such as Apple and GE, and Tekserve, one of New York City’s largest computer retailers. Nearly two dozen environmental groups also supported the measure, including the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense, the League of Conservation Voters, the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) and the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
Unfortunately, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he will veto the Bill and will not enforce the law if his veto is overriden. He believes the Bill puts an unfair burden on the product manufacturers to control what happens to the products at the end of their life cycles.
Speaking on his radio show, Bloomberg said electronics waste is an environmental concern, but he said the bill would be like requiring publishing companies to guarantee that their readers recycle newspapers.
The Bloomberg administration and the NYC Council are working to reach a compromise.
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