Note that HB2626 gets us started on all three of these recommendations for getting our leaky “bottles” (computers) full of hazardous materials out of our waste stream.
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High-Tech Trash Talk

Excerpts:

When we heard about Elizabeth Grossman’s “High Tech Trash” book, we did seek a meeting with her in downtown San Francisco to ask her a few questions.

… In the U.S. we discard over 250 million computers annually and the federal government alone disposes of over 10,000 computers a week. And we’ve been accumulating this high tech trash at accelerating rates over the past 20 or more years. Altogether electronics are the fastest growing part of the waste stream both in the U.S. and in Europe.

What makes this high tech trash such a problem is that each piece of equipment contains numerous toxic and hazardous materials: heavy metals – including lead, cadmium, chromium, and mercury – and many synthetic chemicals that are persistent pollutants (among them flame retardants and other chemicals used in plastics) meaning that they linger in the atmosphere for years and accumulate in animals and people where they can cause serious health problems. These toxics are released when equipment is damaged, destroyed or improperly disposed of — and that’s what happens to a huge amount of our old electronics.

… According to [EPA], the U.S. is only recycling about 10 percent of its used electronics. This means that about 2 million tons of electronics go to U.S. landfills each year . . . .

… Metals make up over half of the weight in many computers, particularly the older ones now being discarded. These computers also contain quite a lot of copper which is in great demand right now, and commands high prices.

It was mining companies who first got into the electronics recycling business . . . . But current recycling rates mean that we’re simply throwing away about 90 percent of the billions of pounds of copper and millions of pounds of gold that are in our obsolete computer equipment – copper and gold that is essentially 100 percent reusable.
…
Computer recycling is now mandatory in California, and in 2005, the first year the law was in place, 65 to 70 million pounds of e-waste were diverted from the state’s landfills. That amount is expected to nearly double in 2006. All of that equipment went to recyclers…

One: If explicit recycling instructions – that includes responsible reuse options – was included in instruction manuals that accompany new equipment.

Two: Convenient locations to drop off old equipment for recycling. (In Europe retailers must accept equipment for recycling and in Japan, post offices are used as collection points.)

And three: Some kind of system to assure consumers that their chosen recycler is environmentally and socially responsible.

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