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Electronics
Only 9 percent of the more than 2 million tons of consumer electronics thrown out in 2000 in the United States were recycled, despite the fact that personal computers (PCs), mainframe computers, monitors, telecommunications equipment, and consumer electronics such as televisions contain a wide variety of recoverable materials. In fact, nearly 250 million PCs alone will become obsolete in the next 5 years, being discarded and replaced by new computers. Because the supply of electronics equipment available for recycling continues to increase, electronics recycling presents a burgeoning market development opportunity in the United States. The infrastructure for electronics recycling is growing with recycling companies, state and local initiatives, national programs like EPA's "Plug In To eCycling" campaign, and retailers and manufacturers supporting electronics recycling, making it easier for consumers to recycle end-of-life electronics if they choose to do so.
Electronics recycling companies started emerging in the recycling market in the 1990s. The top 10 firms process 75 percent of the electronics recycled in this country. Electronics recycling is a labor intensive activity, and the economics favor larger firms that are able to make large capital investments in equipment for automated sorting and destruction of electronic components. Another significant feature of the industry is the presence of original equipment manufacturers and asset management firms who handle resale, recycling, and disposal of obsolete equipment for larger corporate accounts, relieving customers of disposal and data removal burdens.
Numerous state and local initiatives designed to spur electronics recovery have also emerged in recent years. Through a JTR grant in 1998, Massachusetts researched several collection options for used electronics, including working with local charity organizations. The effort was part of a broader five-point plan, which included a disposal ban on CRTs. Florida and Minnesota are examples of other states playing an active role in electronics recovery. In addition, dozens of electronics collection programs are being initiated at the local level. Snohomish County, Washington, prohibits landfill disposal of many electronics and has formed the "Take It Back" network, which pools resources from both the private and public sector to create a safe and convenient way to recycle electronics. Snohomish County has also played a role in creating regional and national electronics recycling programs.
State and local partnerships, national initiatives, and market development show promising advances in electronics recycling, but the electronics recycling industry is still relatively new. Like any new industry, some challenges and barriers exist that need to be overcome for maximum success. There are two main challenges facing the electronics recycling industry today:
- Electronics waste may also contain hazardous materials
and can contribute heavy metals to the overall waste stream if disposed of improperly.
Some of this material includes mercury, lead, zinc, and chromium. Cathode ray
tubes (CRTs), from computer monitors and televisions, contain leaded glass and
are one specific type of hazardous waste. Although hazardous, some recyclers have
developed a process to separate the CRT funnel from the front panel glass if monitors
are separated from the waste stream. The CRT is crushed and the leaded glass and
metal are further separated. The glass is then sold and made back into CRT glass,
and the metal is sold and recycled as scrap.
- Plastic poses one of the biggest challenges in recovering material from electronic equipment for two reasons. First, plastics are often attached to these other materials such as metal screws and inserts, coatings and paints, foams, and labels. If not separated from each other, these other materials will contaminate the plastics. Second, manufacturers use many different kinds of plastic in electronic equipment and it is both difficult and costly to sort for utilization in markets requiring single resin feedstocks. There are also limited markets for the mixed plastics stream. Recently, however, these plastics have found a market in roadbed fill. In the future, EPA hopes these plastics can be used in flooring, computer, and automotive parts.
Additional Resources
The following EPA Web sites provide additional information on electronics reuse and recycling markets:
- EPA's
Plug-In To eCycling program is sponsoring voluntary, shared responsibility
pilot programs that show promising multi-stakeholder collaboration in electronics
recycling. Manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, government, and non-governmental
organizations have come together in four different pilots. For example, Staples
and the Product Stewardship Institute have partnered to offer retail-based electronics
recycling in Northeast states. If successful, Staples hopes to expand this program
nationwide. Plug In To eCycling also has "leadership partners" that
provide generous support for the campaign, including Best Buy, Dell, Sony, Panasonic,
AT&T Wireless, Sharp, Envirocycle, Nxtcycle, JVC, Recycle America, Intel,
Lexmark, and Staples. Plug In to eCycling also has partnership opportunities for
the public sector.
- EPA's Product
Stewardship Web site describes efforts by industry, federal, state,
and local agencies, many who have become industry leaders in electronics
recycling. Best Buy is the first electronics retailer to offer onsite
collection events for its customers. In 2003, Best Buy collected and
recycled 365 tons of electronics waste at its collection events. Dell
is manufacturing a "green" computer line in which all parts
of the computer are completely recyclable, and each part is labeled
to make it easy for customers to recycle. Other industry leaders in
this area include Sony, Panasonic, AT&T Wireless, Staples, JVC,
Intel, Lexmark, and Sharp.
- EPA's eCycling Web site offers information to consumers about issues surrounding electronics waste. The site is a good resource for information on reuse, donation, recycling, and purchasing electronics. The eCycling Web site can also be valuable to the market professional by providing information on market trends in electronic waste generation and recovery, current regulatory requirements facing the electronics reuse and recycling industry, and links to publications concerning eCycling.