House bill would open recycling sites for electronic devices

Oregonians will be able to clear their basements and closets of obsolete televisions, personal computers, laptops and monitors at recycling centers funded by high-tech manufacturers under a bill approved unanimously by the Oregon House on Tuesday.

The proposal still needs to be approved in the Senate and signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski to become law.

The measure would require electronics manufacturers to open recycling sites or help pay for collective sites where eligible electronic devices could be returned free of charge.

Many smaller electronic devices such as cell phones and iPods are not covered under House Bill 2626.

“This measure embodies a growing ethic of environmental responsibility among American manufacturers generally, and producers of electronic equipment in particular,” said Rep. David Edwards.

The Hillsboro Democrat and other lawmakers emphasized that the measure took a market-based approach to addressing electronic waste, or e-waste, which presents a growing environmental problem for governments around the world.

Oregonians threw away 32,500 tons of computers, televisions and other out-of-date electronics in 2005, mostly into landfills or dumps. Many devices contained toxic metals such as mercury, lead or cadmium that could leach into groundwater.

The bill would also make it illegal for Oregon landfill operators to knowingly accept electronic waste that could be recycled.

Electronic devices that now are recycled through private companies or other programs often are sent to Asia, where they are stripped of metals by hand, exposing workers and the landscape to harmful toxins.

The Oregon proposal is intended to reduce the amount of obsolete electronics headed into the waste stream by forcing companies to pay for the cost of recycling their products–a model lawmakers said would result in devices that are cheaper to disassemble and less environmentally toxic.

“Once waste management costs are internalized, the market will determine the response,” Edwards said. “This gives a competitive advantage to less wasteful, more economically recyclable products and can provide an important economic incentive to drive innovation toward more efficient resource use.”

Manufacturers would be required to recycle products in proportion to the amount they sell in Oregon.

The measure was endorsed by Hewlett-Packard, which has had an extensive recycling program for its products for nearly 20 years, but gained the support of other industry heavyweights after lawmakers said they intended to enact electronic waste recycling program this session.

“It gave a lot of incentive for industry to sit down at that table and make it work,” said Rep. Ben Cannon (D-Portland).

Oregon is known for its recycling ethic. In 1971, the state passed the nation’s first bottle bill, requiring a 5-cent deposit on beer and soda containers. If the electronic waste bill gains final approval, Oregon would join California, Maine, Maryland, Washington and Minnesota in passing such legislation.