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Policies & LegislationElectronic Equipment and Product StewardshipNorthwest States
Manufacturers are required to annually register and submit a fee to the Department of Ecology and must participate in a standard plan or an independent plan for the collection, transportation, and recycling of unwanted electronic products. Plans will include provision for collection services for covered electronic products of all product types that are reasonably convenient and available to all citizens of the state. Retailers are prohibited from selling products of manufacturers who do not comply with the law. Manufacturers, state government, local governments, retailers, and collection sites and services shall collaborate in the development and implementation of a public information campaign regarding the collection of electronic waste. The Governor vetoed Section 26 which pertains to export restrictions of electronic waste on the grounds that the state does not have the authority to restrict exports as the bill was written. See the attached enactment message. See NW States Products page for additional information about the law and its implementation. View a chart illustrating the flow of funds and materials, and a comparison of the California, Maine, Maryland and Washington recycling bills. HB 2488, signed into law on March 29, 2004, directed the Washington State Department of Ecology to work with the state Solid Waste Advisory Committee to conduct research and develop recommendations for implementing and financing an electronic product collection, recycling and reuse program. A final report entitled Implementing and Financing an Electronic Product Collection, Recycling and Reuse Program was delivered to the legislature in December 2005.
The bill requires all manufacturers of CEDs to provide collection and recycling or pay for a program contracted by the state. Manufacturers are required to register annually with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and must indicate their intent to participate in a manufacturer program or the contractor program. Both programs provide a statewide system for the recycling of electronic devices. The bill prohibits charging a fee for collection of the CEDs. The manufacturer program is provided by a single manufacturer, or group of manufacturers. The contractor program is overseen by DEQ and may be administered by a third party. Manufacturers participating in the contractor program are required to pay a recycling fee to DEQ in addition to the registration fee, to cover the costs of collecting, transporting, and recycling its share of electronic devices. This share is based on the weight of sales of its covered electronic devices sold in the state during the previous calendar year. Retailers will only be able to sell electronic equipment manufactured by companies registered with DEQ. Retailers will also be required to display and provide consumers with information on where and how to recycle their electronic devices. The bill encourages the design of covered electronic devices that are more resource-efficient, more recyclable and less environmentally toxic. See NW States Products page for additional information about the law and its implementation. SB 867B, signed into law on August 22, 2003, directed an advisory committee to examine the reuse and recycling of electronic products and report the findings to the Legislative Assembly. The Oregon Advisory Committee Report 2005, includes analysis of the different electronics reuse and recycling infrastructures in Oregon. After evaluation of several scenarios, an Advanced Recycling Fee received the majority of the Advisory Committee votes. Because there is currently some ambiguity about the regulatory status of cathode ray tubes (CRTs), the Advisory Committee recommends revisiting the interim CRT rule and consider formal rule making to strengthen enforcement and provide clarification. In addition, the legislation requires cities serving over 500,000 people to develop and implement a pilot program for electronics recycling and reuse. Amendments adopted in this legislation established a dedicated fund for these programs.
The bill would exclude from the definition of electronic equipment certain electronic devices, including fixed-installation devices that are electrical or mechanical, aeronautical and aerospace equipment, certain refrigeration equipment, video display devices, electronic equipment manufactured before January 1, 2010, and electronic or electrical lighting devices. RoHS Directive 2002/95/EC prohibits manufacturers from selling products that contain hazardous chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and other dangerous substances. The bill continues to be held in the the Senate Committee on Appropriations as of August 7, 2008. See updated bill status for more information. Strategic Directive 5, adopted by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) on February 13, 2007, outlines the Board's commitment to producer responsibility. The directive states that it is a core value of the CIWMB that producers assume the responsibility for the safe stewardship of their materials in order to promote environmental sustainability. The CIWMB developed five subdirective areas: 1) utilize existing Board authority to implement cradle-to-cradle producer responsibility, 2) seek further statutory authority to widen the scope of CIWMB influence, 3) analyze the feasibility of various approaches to increasing producer responsibility, 4) build expertise on product stewardship issues and solutions, and 5) develop and maintain relationships with affected parties that would participate in producer-financed take-back programs. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Framework Policy was adopted by the CIWMB on January 23, 2008. The new EPR Framework Policy shifts the responsibility for managing products at the end-of-life from local governments to producers who can internalize the costs of product collection, transportation, and recycling/disposal. The new policy provides stronger state regulations, realistic product selection and goal setting, and flexible oversight of product stewardship programs managed by affected participants. Through product stewardship, the CIWMB hopes to encourage firms to design products which are less damaging to the environment, reduce waste at the source, and reuse end-of-life products rather than disposing unwanted material. Chapter 891, also known as the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004, went into effect on July 1, 2006. The law requires manufacturers and California retailers and service providers to share in the responsibility for the collection and recycling of cell phones within the state. Companies without a take-back program can work with current business enterprises that provide collection and processing services as long as the strategy meets the requirements in the law. It is unlawful for retailers to sell a cell phone unless the retailer is participating in a take-back program. The take-back requirement started in July 2006. Chapter 526, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (SB 20) and the nation's first comprehensive electronics recycling policy, was signed into law on Sept 24, 2003. However, due to difficulties in establishing an efficient fee collection and remittal system for the Electronic Waste Recycling Fee, the Legislature passed AB 901 as an urgency measure, and the Governor signed the bill into law. AB 901 postponed the start date of the fee collection until November 1, 2004. All other provisions of Chapter 526 and subsequent emergency regulations remained in effect. |
