Dive Summary:
- A Product Stewardship Institute report created for the Natural Resources Defense Council illustrates that two years after New York state passed its e-waste recycling law, many critical improvements have been made.
- However, resources in New York City are in need of expansion and need to keep up with the swiftly changing market, while the state has increased the volume of electronics collected for recycling and government costs have been lowered as a result of the program.
- E-waste laws were implemented statewide two years ago, requiring manufacturers of electronics to implement a system that gave consumers access to free e-recycling.
From the article:
The new e-waste recycling law, a “producer responsibility” law requiring manufacturers of electronic equipment to create and finance a system for collecting, transporting, and processing old electronics, was designed to ensure that every resident has free and easy access to recycling for their... electronic devices.
The volume of scrap electronics collected in New York has increased substantially, with over 44 million pounds of scrap electronics collected in the first year alone.
By requiring that manufacturers internalize the costs of end-of-life product management, it was also intended to result in the design of less toxic, more recyclable electronics in the first instance.
