My dad has two old computers, a 21-inch CRT and a 15-inch LCD, a
handful of old cell phones, and a few ancient digital cameras
sitting around his office, taking up space and gathering dust. This
year's holiday haul will eventually join the heap. He doesn't use
these things anymore, but he's not quite sure what to do with them.
Sound familiar?
There are some private recycling services and places where you can
donate your used tech goods (see "Recycling now," below). You can
also try to resell the stuff via online auction sites. But my
father doesn't want to cull through multiple donation and recycling
programs to see which one wants or will take his stuff, and he
doesn't want to sell it at auction. He just wants a place to drop
it all off, one that will handle it properly so that he won't end
up drinking toxic bits of it a few years down the line.
The government wants to help, really. A couple of bills, a new
congressional group, and a Government Accountability Office report
all attest to these good intentions. Problem is, all of these
initiatives and proposals have remained just that -- initiatives
and proposals, not action.
On the government recycling table
Congress considered a new tack on recycling last year with a bill
that would have given a tax incentive to companies and individuals
for recycling their tech goods, while at the same time mandating an
investigation into the possibility of a national recycling plan.
The Electronic Waste Recycling Promotion and Consumer Protection
Act was introduced in the Senate (S. 510) back in March, and in the
House of Representatives (H.R. 4316) in November. It then went into
that black hole known as a congressional committee, and has yet to
emerge.
Even earlier in the year, Congress took a stab at the problem
through another proposed bill, the National Computer Recycling Act
(H.R. 425). This one would have put the Environmental Protection
Agency in charge of a national recycling and grant program that
would collect a fee (up to $10) when anyone purchases certain types
of computer equipment. The money collected would have been used to
provide grants to individuals, local governments, or private
organizations that recycle or reuse computers and their parts. This
bill has been proposed several times before; once again, it got
stuck in committee.
Some representatives formed the Congressional E-Waste Working Group
in May to study and educate members of Congress on the issue.
Although the group has recommended adoption of a national recycling
plan, this hasn't happened.
Even the GAO has gotten into the act with a study it released in
November. Among other things, the report concluded that having
different recycling requirements in different states would place an
undue burden on manufacturers, which argues for a national plan.
The report also recommended that the Environmental Protection
Agency help Congress draft legislation that would help people
overcome the financial barriers to recycling. Right now, private
companies often charge US$20 to $30, or even more, to get rid of
your old equipment; that's because these companies don't make
enough money to make a profit by selling raw materials they extract
from tech waste. Unless you can drop something off at a local
charity -- many of which are getting more and more choosey about
what they'll accept -- at a minimum you'll have to pay shipping
costs to get your goods to a recycler.
Given all this attempted action, it's clear the tech recycling
problem has registered on the congressional consciousness. We'll
see solutions enacted, however, only when the financial question
has been resolved.
The money pit
Although it's easy to get people to agree that we need to do
something about our growing mass of tech waste, it's far from easy
to get anyone to agree on what we should do, and how we should pay
for it.
I tend to agree with the GAO that having individual states come up
with their own regulations would be cumbersome; worse, it would
leave some of us with good options, and others with none, or bad
ones. It would be great to have the problem handled by a single
national organization, with local drop-off points, that could
channel tech goods to other agencies for donation or to companies
with government-approved recycling programs. That way I wouldn't
have to spend a lot of time checking out dozens of local and
national sites or stores; I would always know to take my goods when
I'm ready to be rid of them. It would be a post office for tech
parcels, of sorts.
Yes, that would mean the creation of yet another government agency,
with all the potential for bureaucratic inefficiency and abuse that
such agencies entail. But with the right public and/or private
oversight, it should be possible to minimize the negatives. This
would be better than simply giving grants to approved recycling
companies in order to help cover their costs: While this approach
would keep the wallet hit to you and me at a minimum (thereby
helping remove the financial disincentive to recycle), it would do
nothing to make recycling more convenient.
Regardless of how we decide to recycle, we'll need to find some way
to pay for the expense. I don't mind the notion of paying a fixed
tax surcharge on the tech goods I buy -- say $10 or $15 for large
items, $5 for smaller gadgets -- to help defray the costs of
eventual recycling and the agency that makes it convenient for me
to do so. A deposit, like the one many of us pay when we buy drinks
in cans or bottles and then get back when we turn the containers in
for reuse or recycling, could also work; the return refund might
make the plan palatable to those who don't want to pay more taxes.
Giving tax breaks to companies who make environmentally friendly
goods is another good idea; if we start out with products that are
easier to dispose of safely, we're much better off in the long run.
There are numerous options. Now it's up to us and our government to
pick one, so that our gadgets don't turn into poisonous
garbage.
Recycling now
While we wait for our government to act, here are some
organizations that can help you get rid of your old gear now.
The National Cristina Foundation provides tech goods and training
for students, persons with disabilities, and others.
The Freecycle Network helps you donate free goods to people who
would like them.
TechSoup helps you find nonprofits or commercial companies that
will reuse or recycle your goods.
Several tech companies, including Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM,
run recycling programs that will dispose of your old goods, for a
fee. Check each site for pricing and procedure.
EBay runs a program called the Rethink Initiative, which provides
information about options for handling your old gear, and can hook
you up with charities or companies that will take your goods.
The National Recycling Coalition offers both information and a list
of sites and groups through which you can donate or recycle your
computer equipment.
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