Friday, January 11, 2008

New York City to Tackle E-Waste




Gothamist reported today that the New York City Council Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management is proposing new regulations on e-waste. Manufacturers would be required to accept unwanted electronics at no cost to consumers. Currently, concerned New Yorkers are faced with waiting for the annual electronics recycling event. As a consequence, large quantities of electronic waste, much of which contains Mercury and other toxics, makes its way into landfills or is incinerated. Here is how the Committee summarizes the legislation:

As the use of electronic products, which can contain multiple toxic materials, continues to skyrocket, so too does the pollution of land, water, and air from the disposal of these products in landfills and incinerators. Int. No. 104 responds to this looming problem with a fair and flexible regulatory scheme that guarantees that manufacturers assume responsibility for their products while consumers suffer no new costs for recycling electronic products. Such an approach will protect human health and the environment from products currently set to enter the waste steam and motivate manufacturers to design and construct products in the future that are less toxic and easier to recycle.


Give your local City Council representative a call to voice your support for this important proposal.