U.S. EPA Releases Electronic Waste Guidelines

          On October 31, 2008, U.S. EPA released new guidelines on how to run safe and environmentally protective electronic waste recycling operations.  The guidelines, known as “Responsible Recycling (R2) Practices for Use in Accredited Certification Programs for Electronics Recyclers,” set forth thirteen principles to help electronics recyclers insure their material is handled safely and legally both in the United States and abroad.  The thirteen principles relate to: (1) environmental, health, and safety management system plans; (2) policies based on a “reuse, recover, dispose” hierarchy of responsible management strategies; (3) compliance with legal requirements in the United States and abroad; (4) on-site environment, health, and safety practices; (5) management of “focus materials” or FMs; (6) testing and packaging of reusable equipment and components; (7) tracking throughput; (8) data destruction; (9) storage; (10) facility security; (11) insurance, closure plan, and financial responsibility; (12) transport; and (13) recordkeeping.

The guidelines call on recyclers to develop policies that promote reuse and material recovery over landfill disposal or incineration.  “Focus materials” are materials in electronic equipment that require greater care during recycling, refurbishment, materials recovery, incineration or disposal and include items containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), items containing mercury, cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and CRT glass, batteries, and whole and shredded circuit boards except whole and shredded circuit boards that do no contain lead solder and have undergone safe and effective mechanical processing, or manual dismantling, to remove mercury and batteries.  Although not defined as FMs, toner and toner cartridges are to be managed similar to focus materials.  Before shredding, materials recovery, energy recovery, incineration, or land disposal of discarded electronic equipment of components, FMs as well as toner and toner cartridges are to be removed except small items containing mercury and CRTs, batteries, and circuit boards contained in equipment or components destined for materials recovery.  Removed FMs are to be sent to licensed processing, recovery, or treatment facilities.  Energy recovery, incineration, and land disposal may not be used as a management strategy for focus materials or equipment of components containing focus materials.  Electronics recyclers are to exercise due diligence in their selection and ongoing use of downstream vendors of focus materials. 

The R2 practices are not legal requirements and do not replace electronics recyclers’ legal obligations.  Adherence to the principles is voluntary, and if a requirement conflicts with an applicable legal requirement, the legal requirement controls.  The guidelines are for use in accredited certification programs of recyclers of electronic wastes, such as discarded computers, copiers, fax machines, imaging systems, printing systems, telephones, televisions, video cassette recorders, camcorders, digital cameras, control boxes, stereo systems, compact disc players, radios, cell phones, pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), calculators, organizers, game systems, and their accessories as well any other or new types of equipment that are designed primarily to store or convey information electronically any new accessories to such equipment.  The guidelines are for electronics recyclers as well as electronics resellers, refurbishers, demanufacturers, asset recoverers, brokers, and leasing companies engaged in e-recycling activities.   

A multi-stakeholder group started work on the guidelines in January 2006.  Their next step will be to identify certification programs to verify electronics recyclers who adhere to the R2 practices.  For more information on U.S. EPA’s Responsible Recycling Practices, contact Gale Lea Rubrecht at 304-340-1200 or galelea@jacksonkelly.com

This article was authored by Gale Lea Rubrecht, Jackson Kelly PLLC. For more information on the author see here.