As Electronic Waste Grows, So Do Problems Of Its Disposal

Thu. May 1, 2008


Greater care needs to be taken as Americans dispose of outdated and waste electronic equipment such as computers, televisions, VCRs, cell phones and MP3 players, the House Science Committee was told Wednesday.

According to the EPA, an estimated 2 million tons of electronics ended up in landfills or incinerators in 2005, and that number is expected to rise this year due to higher consumption of electronics and the government-mandated transition of televisions from analog to digital.

"It's important to bear in mind that a computer is not a soda can and a TV is not a newspaper," said House Science Chairman Bart Gordon. "These are products that contain complex parts and are made up of dozens of materials, some of which like lead and mercury, are toxic."

Other issues raised were that EPA estimates that less than 15 percent of electronics are recycled, the cost for companies to salvage reusable parts can exceed the gains, many products have a short lifespan, not all states prohibit dumping electronics in landfills and that some recyclers export the products to developing countries without worker safety or environmental protections.

"Consumers have no way to know if the recycler at their city's Earth Day collection event is really going to recycle their old product, or load it in a container and ship it to China," said Ted Smith, chairman of the Electronics Take-Back Coalition. Smith suggested a closed-door policy on exports of toxic e-waste to third-world countries.

There are no federal laws or regulations governing the disposal of consumer electronic products in the United States.

Other possible solutions raised at the hearing included researching alternative nontoxic materials for electronics, incentives for companies to recycle products at no cost to the consumer, something some electronics manufacturers already do, or simply not consuming as much.

"What we are dealing with is really a self-inflicted wound, self-inflicted problem," said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md. "Much of this equipment that is sold is bought with discretionary money; we just don't need it."

by Ramsey Cox