Is it Time for an E-Waste Deposit Fee?
According to a recent article in the Green Computing blog, American companies are exporting their e-waste to Asia — either for recycling, or possibly for dumping.
One company alone in California, Electronics Recyclers International, has been alleged to have shipped 6.9 million pounds of waste, aboard 189 sea containers to be “recycled” overseas.
“Recycled” in this example, is usually a euphemism for “dumped”.
High tech companies in America need to do a better job of recycling their e-waste before this problem gets out of hand. Most major manufacturers claim to recycle their wastes by sending it to a third party recycling company, without bothering to look into the final result. Is it because the e-waste comes off their books – or is it because they are truly misled?
E-Waste recycling needs to become more transparent so the public understands what happens to this waste. Will it make a difference? Do people really care, or is it better that the dumping is not in our own backyards?
I suggest a two pronged approach.
1) An E-waste Deposit on electronics, like the bottle bills in many states and cities.
