Environmental Regulations

State Legislation

As of October, 2007, five states have passed e-scrap legislation this year, bringing the total to nine states with an e-scrap law on the books.  The Computer Take Back Campaign developed a convenient table of the laws with links to their resource pages:

States (US) with E-Scrap Laws (as of Oct, 2007)
State	Date signed into Law	Link to Law or bill	Program website
Connecticut	July 2007	CT law	NA
Maine	2004	Maine Law	Program Info
Maryland	2005	Maryland Law	Program Info
Minnesota	May 2007	Minnesota Law	Program Info
Oregon	June 2007	Oregon law	Program info Study on State Recycling Infrastructure
North Carolina	Aug 2007	NC Bill (This is an omnibus bill. See Section 16 for e-waste language.)	NA
Texas	June 2007	Texas bill	NA
Washington	Mar 2006	Washington Law	NA
California	2003	California Laws and Program Info	NA

 

 

Visit the following web sites for information and discussions of state laws:

1. Computer Take Back Campaign
2. Congressional Research Report on State Laws (September, 2007)
3. National Center for Electronics Recycling

 

United States Federal Legislation
There have been several bills introduced on the federal level in recent years.  But without a broad consensus for how to assign responsibility for funding a collection and processing system, and with the increase in state activity, Congress has been reluctant to put any priority on this issue.  It is doubtful there will be any significant movement on federal e-scrap legislation until at least 2009.

The following web sites provide information on current regulatory requirement under US RCRA law as well as information on pending legislation.

1. US EPA Web site on E-Waste
2. Computer Take Back Campaign discussion of federal legislation

 

International Legislation
With more and more companies operating on a multinational basis, it’s important to be aware of laws in different countries, as well as legislation related to the export and import of used electronics and scrap parts and commodities.  Many countries have restrictions on what types of electronic equipment and scrap can be traded. 

• Basel Convention limits the export and import of hazardous wastes (including much of the used electronics and e-scrap disposed by businesses) among countries, with the goal of stopping the flow of toxics from developed to developing countries.  Also see the Basel Action Network for information on the problems with the transboundary shipment of e-waste.
• Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment: Canada regulates all waste on the provincial level, so look here for a resource to all provincial laws.
• Europe – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive: The WEEE Directive is the source of all European legislation on e-scrap.
• Raymond Communications Guide to International E-Scrap Laws: This 2007 report is comprehensive, and a summary is provided here.  The full report is $425