Strict e-recycling law proposed for New York

Archiv – The city of New York is a step closer to adopting one of the toughest electronics recycling laws in the USA – despite strong objections from manufacturers and the city’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg.United States | The city of New York is a step closer to adopting one of the toughest electronics recycling laws in the USA – despite strong objections from manufacturers and the city’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
New York’s city council has approved a bill that would impose a US$ 100 fine on anyone who consigns an old computer, printer or other electronic device to the rubbish bin. Recycling of electronic waste will become mandatory, and manufacturers will be required to take back their own products as well as those made by companies that have gone out of business.
The council estimates that residents of the Big Apple purchase more than 90 000 tonnes of electronic products every year. The devices contain hazardous materials such as lead and mercury, and most end up in the refuse stream. If the new measure becomes law, the city’s voluntary electronics collection and recycling programmes would be replaced by a variety of schemes designed by electronics manufacturers. Those efforts could include kerbside pick-ups, returns by mail and in stores, and neighbourhood collections.
Under New York’s proposed law, manufacturers would start collecting electronics for recycling in 2009. Starting in 2010, city residents could be fined US$ 100 for throwing out a piece of electronic equipment. In 2012, manufacturers would have to collect enough discarded electronic equipment to equal 25% of the average weight of the goods they sold in the city during the previous three years.
Mayor Bloomberg has made it clear that he will not support mandatory thresholds, and is expected to apply a veto. Ten US states, including Connecticut and New Jersey, have already adopted similar measures.