When buying a new high-definition television or the latest laptop, the last thing on someone’s mind is how to get rid of it.
That, however, is precisely the reason retailers are happy with new state legislation that puts the onus on disposing and recycling old electronics on manufacturers.
Connecticut Retail Merchants Association President Timothy Phelan described the legislation as historic and a major victory for retailers.
This is “the first time the state has attempted to deal with the disposal of consumer electronics,” he said. “It’s a new era with digital and high-def televisions and computers. Everyone now has a computer, what do we do with them?”
The General Assembly could have gone in one of two directions with its electronic waste legislation. California, for example, has set up an advance recovery fee for consumers to pay at the time of purchase to cover recycling costs. Other states like Maine have adopted a fee for manufacturers, called a producer’s responsibility fee, to pay for the disposal costs.
Connecticut followed the lead of Maine and has adopted the producer’s responsibility fee that eliminates the point of sale fee that retailers were adamantly against.
“With the point of sale fee, it’s just like the bottle bill where consumers have to pay then for covering the costs,” said Phelan. “We would have opposed that bill. With the producer’s responsibility fee, it gives [manufacturers] a greater incentive to make greener products.
Flummoxed
One reason Phelan said retailers were against a point-of-sale fee was confusion. “It would be confusing on the part of sales associates, there would have been more administrative costs and it would have be confusing to deal with sales off of the Internet,” he said.
While retailers and recyclers have hailed the bill as a victory, high-tech manufacturers have become weary of the growing number of states that have passed electronic waste bills.
The Electronic Industries Alliance, in response, has issued a plea with the federal government to step in and create a nationwide recycling plan.
New Registration
The new legislation in Connecticut will force manufacturers to register with the state Department of Environmental Protection by Jan. 1 and beginning in 2009, manufacturers will pay a to-be-determined annual registration fee to sell computers and televisions in the state.
Bob Kaliszewski, director of planning and program development for the DEP, said it would be at least a year before the legislation is implemented as the department is in the process of formulating the regulations for the program.
Kim O’Rourke, recycling coordinator for Middletown and a member of the Connecticut Recycling Coalition, said that some towns in the state have programs in place for the disposal of electronics but many choose not to use them.
“In Middletown, we accept electronic waste but we have to charge for the cost of it,” she said. “People just don’t want to pay the $10 or $20. It’s really, really wonderful for recycling advocates because the manufacturers will pay the transfer and recycling costs.”
