Following up on the passage of a plastic bag recycling law in New York City on January 9th (to go into effect in July), the City Council passed an electronics recycling law on February 14th that would require manufacturers to set up recycling programs in the city.
Unfortunately, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vowed to veto it. And if the veto is over-ridden as expected, the mayor has vowed not to enforce it. “Look, nobody’s more in favor of recycling, and the reason that we focus on electronic equipment is there’s a lot of very heavy metal chemicals in electronic components that if you just put in a garbage dump they don’t just go away with time the way paper would and some of the other things that get thrown away. Organic materials go away. These really pollute and they pollute badly. The trouble with this law that the City Council passed is that you hold the manufacturers responsible for the public to recycle and the manufacturers can’t do that. They don’t sell directly to the public in many cases, they sell to wholesalers, and the wholesalers, you’re not holding them responsible, but also it’s the individual’s responsibility.”
The individual cannot shoulder this responsibility alone. The manufacturers are using these toxic metals in their products and they should be required to take them back. There should be a cost for making corporate decisions that harm the environment.
Meanwhile, for individuals who would like to recycle electronics in New York City, it is certainly not easy. The city has a take-back program (paid for by the taxpayers) that requires you to cart your electronics to a specific location on a specific day. If you are busy that day? Wait 2-6 months for the next one in your borough. If you have no car, like more than half of the city’s population? Carry it on the subway or the bus? That’s easy enough if you are young and strong and in good health.
New York City’s Wastele$$ website also advises individuals about manufacturers and retailers who already have take-back programs. According to the site, Most charge a processing fee, and some restrict the brands that they will accept.
I generally think the mayor has done a lot of good for the city and has been receptive to environmental issues, but I think he is way off base on this one.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
NY Electronics Recycling Program to be Vetoed by Mayor
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2 comments:
It sounds like the mayor's ties to Big Business are speaking louder than his understanding of the necessity of recycling electronics.
I'm not sure, but it sounds like all the bill asks of businesses is that they make recycling programs available for their products—not to be held responsible if consumers don't recycle. If that is true, seems the Mayor is the one pandering to special interests (eg, businesses reluctant to expend any effort to support recycling) by misrepresenting the requirements of the law.
The Toronto Globe and Mail had the following helpful information for recyclers:
Hewlett-Packard: Takes computer hardware and inkjet or laser cartridges for recycling for a fee. Has free retail drop-off points for rechargeable batteries. Has trade-in options.
Dell: Conseumers: no-charge recycling for Dell equipment without requiring new product purchases. Businesses: fee-based service for removing and recycling any used IT equipment.
Apple: Free computer take-back and recycling with the purchase of a new Mac. $30 to ship a used computer or monitor to Apple's recycling partner.
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