The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) applauded the efforts on electronics stewardship and electronics recycling announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), along with consumer electronics companies.
“Electronics recycling is a national problem that deserves a national solution. Today’s announcement from EPA, GSA and CEQ echoes the principles our industry laid out this spring with the eCycling Leadership Initiative,” said Walter Alcorn, CEA vice president of environmental affairs and industry sustainability.
The eCycling Leadership Initiative, an industry-led effort launched in April to recycle one billion pounds of electronics annually by 2016, is coordinated by CEA and aims to bolster consumer education of eCycling and increase the number of recycling locations and infrastructure needed to reach the one billion pound annual target.
Additionally, the initiative is committed to transparency and measurement, as well as supporting the voluntary implementation of recycler certification systems so that the one billion pounds of electronics is recycled in third-party certified facilities. In fact, all the companies who helped develop the eCycling Leadership Initiative use third-party certified recyclers or ones pursuing certification, and the initiative is committed to practices prohibiting the use of recyclers and downstream processors who dump end-of-life electronics in developing nations.
“We look forward to continuing our dialogue with EPA, GSA and CEQ in the hopes of fortifying a robust public-private partnership that ensures consumers across our nation have ample opportunities to recycle electronics responsibly,” Alcorn said. “A formidable partnership is the best way to develop a national approach to eCycling that replaces the patchwork of costly and confusing state regulations.”
