N.C. E-Waste Legislation Primer

Soon the N.C. General Assembly will be back in session and one issue it plans to discuss is electronics recycling. So where did the General Assembly leave off regarding this topic?

Adapted from info found here - http://www.p2pays.org/electronics/

N.C. Landfill Bans on Electronic Equipment:
Set to take effect Jan. 1, 2011 on:
– Computer Equipment.
• Defined as desktop computers, laptop computers, monitors, keyboards and mice.
• Does not include printers and scanners.
– Televisions.

Producer Responsibility
• S1492 in 2007 included producer responsibility for computer manufacturers, requiring:
– Registration of all manufacturers.
– Submittal of manufacturer recovery plans for state approval.
– Obligations to provide free transportation and processing of materials on behalf of “collectors.”
– Reporting on materials recovered measured against sales.
– Implementation on Jan. 1, 2010.
• S1492 also included disposal ban on computer equipment set for 1/1/2012.

H819 in 2008 addressed TVs:
– Manufacturer registration.
– Manufacturers responsible for a share of recovery equal to their market share of sales.
• E.g., if Sony sells 5% of all TVs, they must conduct recovery activities in North Carolina that account for 5% of TV recovery in the state.
– Manufacturers will need to work with major processors and collectors to achieve market share targets.
• H819 also places disposal ban on TVs for 1/1/2011.
• H819 changed the disposal ban on computer equipment to 1/1/2011.

Legislative Activity 2009
Computer manufacturers pushed for changes:
– No state approval of recovery plans.
– Requiring collectors to contract with manufacturers one-by-one to receive services.
• Compromise offered to change computer provisions to Maryland-type model:
– Large registration fee ($10 - $15,000).
– Revenue used to provide funds to county electronics programs.
– Manufacturers allowed to pay smaller fees if they have recovery programs or provide physical collection infrastructure.
• Session ended before compromise could be passed - manufacturer registration delayed until July 1, 2010.