Products

Electronic Equipment and Product Stewardship

NWPSC Activities and Programs

NWPSC members are involved in several product stewardship outreach efforts and pilot programs with computer manufacturers, retailers, repair and reuse organizations to properly manage used electronic products. See the 2008 NWPSC Electronics Subcommittee Issue paper (PDF file, 36KB) to learn more about subcommittee activities and next steps.

King County Take it Back Network The King County Take it Back Network, formerly the Computer Recovery Project, has been providing the residents and small businesses of King County with reuse and recycling options for their used computer equipment since July of 2000. It is a network of electronic recyclers including local computer repair and resale shops, nonprofit groups and computer retailers that have teamed up to offer multiple locations for donating, upgrading or recycling used computer equipment.

All network members have agreed to recycle broken computer monitors and televisions domestically and to avoid exporting overseas. Since computer monitors and televisions from commercial customers are no longer accepted for disposal at King County Transfer Stations, the Computer Recovery Program provides an environmentally sound alternative.

On February 17, 2009, television stations will stop broadcasting analog signals and will convert to digital. For more information about the conversion and how to get a coupon for a converter box, see the King County Take it Back Network Factsheet: Don't Trash Your Analog TV (PDF file, 232KB).

The Take it Back Network is a project of the King County Solid Waste Division, the Seattle Public Utilities, and the Snohomish County Solid Waste Division.

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Snohomish County Take It Back Network As of November, 2002, Snohomish County, Washington no longer accepts computers, laptops, monitors, separated computer circuit boards and televisions as garbage and requests that these items be recycled.

To provide residents and businesses with recycling options, Snohomish County formed the Take It Back Network, a partnership between local government, retailers, waste haulers, recyclers, electronics manufacturers and consumers. The Take It Back Network provides collection, processing, and recycling options for used electronic equipment.

Each Take It Back Network partner fills a different niche. Snohomish County provides technical assistance to network members and publicizes the network to its businesses and residents. Retailers, non-profit organizations, and electronics repair and service shops serve as electronics collection sites, while garbage haulers and recyclers work to provide environmentally sound collection, transportation and recycling services.

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Go Green with EPEAT Conference Call (PPT file, 7.26MB)

The Northwest Product Stewardship Council, US EPA Region 10 and the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc. sponsored a presentation in August 2006 to introduce the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). This procurement tool can help institutional purchasers in public and private sectors to evaluate and compare desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes.

Topics covered in the presentation include:

• An Overview of EPEAT: What it is & How to Use it by Scot Case, Program Customer Services Manager, Green Electronics Council
• A Manufacturer’s Perspective by Carl Eckersley, Environmental Manager, Hewlett-Packard Development Company
• State Procurement: A Real Life Example by Dmitriy Nikolayev, Environmentally Preferable Product Procurement Program, Massachusetts Operational Services Division
• Resources Available for Using EPEAT by Patty Dillon, Program Manager, Northeast Recycling Council

To learn more, visit the Northwest Product Stewardship Council Rating System for Computers and Peripherals.

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Business Plan and Final Report for an Electronic Product Stewardship Third Party Organization (TPO) in the Pacific Northwest (PDF file, 1.58MB) The goal of the pilot project was to explore the feasibility of creating a private "Third Party Organization" (TPO) that would function to implement an electronics collection and recycling program in the states of Washington and Oregon. The private industry-managed TPO would serve the interests of the states and the product manufacturers.

The April 2006 report provides recommendations for establishing a TPO, the organizational structure, the costs to set up and implement an electronics recycling program in multiple states and provides an analysis of the legal parameters necessary to operate a TPO in a multiple states.

The project was conceived and organized by members of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council and was led by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from eight electronics manufacturers. The separate Executive Summary (PDF file, 206KB), Conceptual Business Plan (PDF file, 470KB), a Project Overview (PDF file, 242KB) and Appendices (PDF file, 1MB) are available.

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Good Guys Electronics Take-back Pilot Project Report (PDF file, 1.96MB) The NWPSC and Good Guys electronics stores teamed up with electronics manufacturers JVC, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp and Sony to take back TVs for recycling from residents in King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties.

The report summarizes the results of the project which ran from July 8 through August 7, 2004. During this time, customers could bring their TVs to the Good Guys stores in Bellevue, Lynnwood, Puyallup and Tukwila where they were charged $10 to recycle standard TVs and $25 for consoles. In return, they received a 10% discount coupon good on the purchase of products sold by participating manufacturers. The program was designed using a product stewardship model where electronics manufacturers, retailers, consumers and local governments contributed to the funding and implementation of the pilot program.

• Summary Report - Good Guys Electronics Take-back Pilot Project (PPT file, 531KB)
• Full Report - Good Guys Electronics Take-back Pilot Project (PPT file, 1.96MB)
• Appendix A: Retailer Recruitment Letter (PPT file, 77KB)
• Appendix B: Memorandum of Understanding (PPT file, 138KB)
• Appendix C: EPA Materials Handling Guidelines (PPT file, 170KB)
• Appendix D: Training Documents (PPT file, 368KB)
• Appendix E: Advertising, Media Coverage, Promotional Materials (PPT file, 3.90MB
• Appendix F: Customer Survey Results (PPT file, 184KB)

This project was funded in part by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and was a project of the EPA's Plug Plug-In To eCycling Campaign. The program was administered by the Northwest Product Stewardship Council governments King County, Snohomish County, City of Seattle, and City of Tacoma.

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Office Depot and Hewlett Packard Conduct the NWPSC-backed Electronics Recycling Pilot Program From July 19 through September 6, 2004, Office Depot and Hewlett-Packard teamed up to offer the country's first free, nationwide, in-store electronics recycling program. Customers could drop off any brand of unwanted electronics for free at any of Office Depot's more than 850 retail locations in the continental United States.

The program brought in 5,100 tons of equipment during the 7 week program. All products collected from Office Depot stores were recycled at HP's U.S. two recycling facilities in Roseville, California. and near Nashville, Tennese. The collection and recycling of the equipment was funded by Office Depot and HP.

The recycling program was developed with input from the Northwest Product Stewardship Council governments including King County, Snohomish County, City of Seattle, City of Tacoma, Kitsap County, and Clark County in Washington and Metro Portland in Oregon.

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Study Tests Usability of Computer "Mail Back" Programs Snohomish County, a member of the NWPSC Steering Committee, tested several of the electronics "mail back" programs offered by computer manufacturers. The tests were conducted during the month of October 2003 on five manufacturer mail back programs: IBM, HP, Dell, Gateway, and Lexmark.

The Test of Electronics Manufacturer Mail Back Programs Report (PDF file, 207KB) evaluated the following program elements:

• Ease of getting the information
• Number of layers/websites it takes to find the information
• Accuracy of information provided
• Total time for follow-up to inquiries
• Cost of recycling & other materials
• Overall time to complete the recycle or "take-back" process

The report concludes with an overall estimation of the time and effort it would take the average consumer to recycle a computer, computer monitor or other electronics equipment using one of these programs.

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Considerations for Local Communities, Related to the Collection of Used Electronics (PDF file, 53KB). Many citizens look to their local government agencies to offer electronics recycling collection programs. The NWPSC has developed guidelines for local governments to consider if are thinking about collecting electronics for recycling.

These guidelines focus on short-term solutions that will encourage long-term product stewardship programs involving electronics manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, and consumers.

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E-Waste Generation in Northwest Washington Seattle Public Utilities, a member of the Northwest Product Stewardship Council, commissioned a report about the state of e-waste in Northwest Washington. The report provides estimates of the quantities of e-waste and the costs associated with starting two e-waste collection facilities in Seattle. Read the executive summary (PDF file, 26KB) or the full report (PDF file, 522KB).

"Listening to Local Governments: A Discussion of Product Stewardship and the Electronic Waste Crisis"

The NWPSC and the Washington Department of Ecology conducted the first in a series of workshops on electronics and product stewardship. The workshop was held on September 5, 2002 and was attended by Western Washington Recycling Coordinators at Evergreen State College.

• Meeting Minutes (PDF file, 233KB)
• Meeting Summary (PDF file, 137KB)

The slide presentations are available in Microsoft Powerpoint below by clicking on the presentation.

• Washington State CRT Regulations (PPT file 1.8MB)
• Local Regulations and Electronic Wastes (PPT file, 26KB)
• Product Stewardship, Sharing Environmental Responsibility (PPT file, 629KB)
• Local Government Concerns About Electronic Wastes (PPT file, 1.12MB)
• Product Stewardship and Electronics Collection Events (PPT file, 763KB)
• Developing a Network for Change, Product Stewardship and Electronics Recycling (PPT file, 1.22MB)

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NWPSC Policymakers Bulletin - Governments Saddled With Electronic Scrap (PDF file, 426KB) This Policymakers' Bulletin outlines the problems of electronic scrap and how they affect local governments. The bulletin describes how product stewardship practices can save local governments money on waste management and describes how electronics product manufacturers can share the burden. It also provides a list of actions that local governments can take to make the shift from current waste management practices to product stewardship practices.

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