San Diego Union-Tribune: State E-Waste Program Hits Milestone

State e-waste program hits 1 billion pounds Worries spread about lax rules for many items
By Mike Lee, Reporter - Environment
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Friday, June 24, 2011 at 2:12 p.m.

The University of San Diego recently opened an e-waste collection center on Linda Vista Road. It's one of many places around the region where residents can drop of old electronics for recycling.
California’s electronic-waste recycling program just passed an impressive milestone with 1 billion pounds collected, but the state’s landmark 2003 law still has major gaps that reduce its effectiveness at preventing pollution.

Perhaps the most significant hole is that those rules only cover video devices, which are roughly half the e-waste stream. They don’t address components such as printers and keyboards that have little value and are easier to dump or export without oversight.

An estimated 1 billion pounds of those “non-covered” products also have been collected since the Electronic Waste Recycling Act took effect in 2005, but they are disposed of with little scrutiny.
Covered electronic devices
When consumers buy “covered electronic devices” in California, they pay fees of $6 to $10 to support the recycling system. Covered devices have video displays larger than four inches diagonally that have been determined by the state to be hazardous when disposed.

Covered devices include:
• Televisions and computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes (CRTs)
• Televisions and computer monitors containing liquid crystal displays (LCDs)
• Laptop computers with LCD screens
• Plasma televisions
• Portable DVD players with LCD screens
On Wednesday, two congressman introduced federal legislation designed to curtail overseas dumping of e-waste — a sign that problems remain widespread. Two days earlier, legislation designed to curtail the dumping of non-covered products passed the state Senate’s environmental quality committee.

“There are a lot of players that do the right thing and dismantle it properly,” said Teresa Bui, an analyst with the nonprofit group Californians Against Waste in Sacramento. “But because there is no incentive, there are other players who find it economically beneficial to ship it overseas before it’s dismantled.”

Nationwide, the problem of managing outdated electronics remains enormous. Computers can contain hundreds of chemicals and compounds, from mercury to flame retardants.

Federal statistics suggest that nearly 40 million computers a year become obsolete, and the federal government has no overarching strategy for recycling them. There’s just a patchwork of state laws that leave wide gaps for mishandling at home and abroad.

E-waste recycling sites
The University of San Diego’s E-Waste Collection Center at 5330 Linda Vista Road is open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. There is no charge to drop off e-waste. Accepted products include computers, cellphones, radios, VCRs and DVD players. For more information, call (619) 260-8815.

For details about other drop-off locations in San Diego County, go to calrecycle.ca.gov and click on the link for electronic waste.
People in developing countries commonly use acid baths and open burning to recover small amounts of precious metals from electronic devices, processes that pollute the environment and cause human health problems. State records suggest tens of millions of pounds of e-waste from California have been shipped to at least 15 countries since 2005, including China, Malaysia and Mexico.

In response to a request for export data, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control issued a statement but no numbers: “DTSC is concerned that efforts to protect California’s environment may mean that companies export their e-waste to countries that do not have the same stringent environmental standards.”

California’s 2003 e-waste legislation established fees that consumers pay when they buy “covered” electronic devices, which are video screens larger than four inches diagonally. The charges, which range from $6 to $10, support about 650 e-waste collectors and recyclers statewide who are paid 39 cents a pound for specific items on the list.

The Legislature addressed video screens because cathode ray tubes from old-style televisions had been banned, creating demand for a disposal solution. Some critics complain that the law puts the burden on consumers instead of the manufacturers, but there’s widespread sentiment that it has had a positive overall effect at keeping e-waste out of landfills, developing a huge recycling infrastructure and reducing the amount of hazardous materials in covered devices.

“It’s been very successful — it’s one of the best in the nation,” Bui said.

E-waste enters the recycling system at weekend collection events and permanent take-back centers such as the one recently opened by the University of San Diego on Linda Vista Road. It was designed to reduce frustration that many residents feel when they try to find a place they can discard unwanted electronics guilt-free.

After the first month, the center had collected 15,000 pounds. USD sells orphaned products to a major processor in Northern California that a school official visited to ensure its methods wouldn’t sully the university.

“Every time I hear an e-waste story, I hear about this stuff going to Third World countries,” said Michael Catanzaro, USD’s sustainability director. “The last thing that I would want is for a watchdog group to come in say ‘Look what (USD is) doing.’ ”

Several rules are designed to prevent materials subsidized by the state from being dumped abroad. They include notifying regulators about shipping plans and providing documentation that materials will be handled according to international guidelines wherever they land.

Even though consumers probably assume otherwise, there are no recycling requirements or export restrictions for non-covered devices and they routinely end up being handled overseas under conditions that wouldn’t be tolerated here, said Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal, D-Long Beach.

Her legislation, Assembly Bill 960, is moving through committees in Sacramento. It would force companies that collect state payments for covered devices to demonstrate that the rest of their e-waste is managed properly.

The bill is supported by watchdog groups. “If we did (dismantling) safely and responsibly in California, then we would be creating jobs here ... and not negatively impact the environment and the health of the workers,” said Lauren Ornelas at the advocacy group Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

Cindy Erie, president of E-World Recyclers in Vista, said her company accepts unprofitable discards to position itself as a full-service solution for e-waste. She said several processors in California and around the country do high-volume shredding to recover low-value plastics and metals.

“These are products produced in the USA that are being responsibly traded throughout the global markets,” she said.

Erie is leery about regulations such as those proposed by Lowenthal, saying the paperwork could be burdensome. She said a better strategy is for recyclers to undergo voluntary third-party certification that they are doing the right thing.