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Product Stewardship for Electronics: EPA’s Current Initiatives

Product Stewardship for Electronics: EPA’s Current Initiatives. 1EPA. Background: Product Stewardship in Electronics Gaining Momentum. International Initiatives: RoHs Directive, WEEE Directive, ELV Directive, Basel Convention Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative

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Product Stewardship for Electronics: EPA’s Current Initiatives

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  1. Product Stewardship for Electronics:EPA’s Current Initiatives 1EPA

  2. Background:Product Stewardship in Electronics Gaining Momentum • International Initiatives: RoHs Directive, WEEE Directive, ELV Directive, Basel Convention Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative • Domestic Initiatives: EPA’s CRT Rule, California SB 20, legislative activity in Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota.

  3. EPA’s Goal • Electronic Products are designed and manufactured so they are: • Have lower impact on the environment, • Contain fewer hazardous and toxic constituents, and • Easier to reuse and recycle; • Increased market demand for ‘greener’ electronic products; • There are convenient, low cost electronics reuse and recycling centers; and • Reuse and recycling centers are environmentally safe and robust markets exist for the materials

  4. EPA’s commitment to reusing and safely recycling used electronics: Current Focus I. Increase Safe Recovery of Discarded Electronics II. Set Federal Example in Improved Stewardship of Electronics

  5. I. Increasing Safe Recovery:Plug-In To eCycling-www.plugintoecycling.org Housed in the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste’s Product Stewardship Team, Plug-In is: A consumer electronics recycling outreach campaign that aims to increase the availability of safe electronics recycling.

  6. Plug-In Partnerships EPA fosters partnerships with manufacturers, retailers and government organizations to focus more national attention on electronics recycling options and give consumers more places and opportunities to safely, conveniently and affordably recycle old electronics

  7. Plug-In Partners: Who are they and what do they do? Some examples: • Manufacturers • Retailers • State and Local Governments Agree to host collection and outreach events, feature ecycling information on website and advertising information, document data collection, use recyclers that meet EPA’s ESM recycling guidelines.

  8. Plug-In Plans for State and Local Governments • Update Event Toolkit • FAQs for Choosing Recyclers • Listserve • Plug-In awareness events in collaboration with state and local governments (i.e. Earth Day/electronics collection with DC Office of Recycling)

  9. How does EPA support partner efforts? • Recognizes partners at public events and in publications and outreach materials • EPA officials mention partners on relevant news programs • Highlights partners in press releases • Provides technical assistance as needed for collection events

  10. Upcoming Pilot Initiatives Testing range of ways where manufacturers, retailers, governments and others can share financial responsibility for recycling old electronics: • Staples New England Pilot: electronics takeback program with manufacturer and retailer financial support • Office Depot/Good Guys Pacific Northwest Pilot: electronics takeback program with manufacturer and retailer financial support • Best Buy Minnesota Pilot: strategic awareness raising of drop off service ** Staples Redmond, WA/ Portland, OR Takeback Initiative. • 3,000+ computers and notebook computers dropped off at stores for recycling. • More than 2,130 donations made in the Puget Sound area • More than 410 donations made in the Portland/Willamette Valley area. • Represents over $25,000 in donations for local school districts.

  11. Achievements and Next Steps Achievements: • Since the program was launched in Jan. 2003, EPA signed on 15 members in the manufacturing and retail sectors. More than 26.4 million pounds of electronics were collected by partners in the first 10 months of the program. Next Steps: • Continue recruiting private sector partners • Continue to generate awareness in media and national events • Improve outreach and awareness tools for local governments and private partners • Launch national ecycling data collection mechanism • Encourage widespread use of Plug-In’s Safe Recycling (ESM) Guidelines –NOW AVAILABLE

  12. Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC)- www.federalelectronicschallenge.net Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)- www.epeat.net II. Improving Federal Stewardship of Electronics

  13. What is the Federal Electronics Challenge? The FEC is a purchasing, use, and end-of-life management challenge issued for federal facilities or agencies to: 1. Purchase greener electronic products 2. Manage electronic assets in an environmentally sound manner 3. Receive assistance to improve current practices

  14. Some quick facts… • Approximately 10,000 federally owned computers deemed excess or surplus each week • FEC establishing ESM guidelines and audit process for Federal Agencies • U.S. federal sector represents a significant market share for electronics • FY 2003 IT budget –$53 BILLION (Hardware & Services) • FY 2004 IT budget – approximately $59 BILLION (Hardware & Services), FY 2005 and beyond – GROWING! • Electronics represent serious environmental costs and opportunities for Federal Agencies • Federal Agencies CARE and are looking toward the FEC for answers. • See opportunities for cost savings and environmental gain • Avoid potential liability

  15. What is EPEAT? To develop, build-on or adopt an assessment tool for electronic products and services and to actively disseminate saidassessment tool. The tool should: • Promote continuous improvement • Address the lifecycle • Inform purchasing decisions by institutional purchasers • Provide market advantage • Be low cost, user friendly, and causes minimal delay in time to market; • Produces credible, verifiable outcomes • Provides value in the marketplace

  16. Major Electronics Projects

  17. For more information… • Plug-in to eCycling www.plugintoecycling.org Verena Radulovic, USEPA Tel: (703) 605-0760 radulovic.verena@epa.gov • Federal Electronics Challenge www.federalelectronicschallenge -Sonia Kassambara, Office of the Federal Environmental Executive Tel: (202) 564-9288 kassambara.sonia@epa.gov -Viccy Salazar, EPA Project Manger Tel: (206) 553-1060 salazar.viccy@epa.gov • EPEAT www.epeat.net -Viccy Salazar, EPA Project Manger (see above) -Larry Chalfan, Project Manager, Zero Waste Alliance Tel: (503) 279-9383 lchalfan@zerowaste.org

  18. The Big Picture on EPA’s Electronics Sector Work

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