Greening the US

In the face of inaction from the federal government, some 23 states have enacted their own e-recycling bills this year and four have already passed them into law: California, Maine, Maryland and Washington. Texas, Minnesota and Connecticut are expected to enact their legislation shortly. New York City is also progressing its own local legislation. The main complaint from the US Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA) is not, as it was in Europe, obligations placed upon manufacturers to pay for the collection and disposal of equipment, but now the wide range of variations that are occurring as e-recycling is tackled at the state, rather than the national, level. "These laws vary dramatically from state to state, picking winners and losers among electronics manufacturers and retailers, said Matt Flanigan, the EIA’s president and ceo. ”If 50 legislatures rewrite business models state by state, consumers could see higher costs and fewer choices – all without any commensurate environmental benefit.” The EIA is seeking support from beyond US borders by further noting that the patchwork quilt of state legislation also creates design and disposal headaches for all electronics companies that export into north America. It wants the White House and Congress to adopt the same stance as Brussels and determine that existing laws should be replaced with a single ‘national solution’. At the federal level, the EIA has secured support from one senator and five members of the US House of Representatives to promote a single act, but still has some way to go. It has also published its own framework proposals – available at www.eia.org – for recycling that would cover monitors, televisions, laptops and pcs. The recycling of televisions has taken on particular importance in the US as the country’s replacement cycle for the introduction of HD displays is now ramping rapidly. More than a quarter of households now own at least one HD display and 50% are considering purchasing one in the next 12 months.