Senate Approves Electronic Waste Recycling Bill

Posted 12/11/2009 at 5:10am | by Paul Lilly

6

Comments

Print

A bill that would promote R&D programs to improve electronic equipment recycling and cut back on the use of hazardous materials used in electronics has passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, eWeek reports.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans tossed out 2.9 million tons of e-waste in 2006, and that number is expected to increase in the coming years as more old TVs are thrown away to make room for digital televisions. What has EPA officials concerned is that many of those electronic devices contain hazardous substances, including lead and cadmium, which end up seeping into soil and water.

"Technology continues to advance, but our ways of disposing of electronic equipment haven't kept up," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, co-sponsor of the bill with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said in a statement. "Many states, including Minnesota, are leading the way on recycling electronic equipment, but we need a national solution to ensure that all unwanted electronics are discarded in a safe and responsible manner."

The EPA says that just 15 percent of discarded electronic devices in the U.S. are recycled.

Image Credit: treehugger.com