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Electronics
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Disclaimer
This list of projects is intended to provide
an overview of recent efforts by U.S. EPA Region 5. Projects completed by
other parties under assistance agreements, such as grants and cooperative
agreements, reflect our regional goals and priorities but are not EPA work, nor
are grant reports EPA publications. The reference or use of any specific
policy, process, procedure, trade name, commercial product, or equipment does
not imply or constitute endorsement or recommendation by U.S. EPA.
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Electronics Projects and Examples of previous Electronics Projects and Grants:
GRANT: Indiana Recycling Coalition - E-scrap Program Outreach
($10,000 FY05) COMPLETED
The Indiana Recycling Coalition, in
partnership with IDEM, Solid Waste Management Districts, electronics recyclers,
and other organizations, will develop a statewide multimedia and outreach
campaign on electronics (e-scrap) management issues and options. This
campaign will begin with the development of a unique logo, a campaign image,
tools and fact sheets which would be used in one-on-one meetings, group
presentations and media outlets to reach a broad constituency about the
important message of the potential hazards of e-scrap, options for responsibly
managing e-scrap, and information about buying greener electronic devices.
Measures for the project may include: number of electronics management programs
in Indiana, quantity of components reused and recycled through these programs,
number and size of contracts government units and schools have with e-scrap
management vendors, and number of entities incorporating green procurement
standards in their
programs.
GRANT: WI DNR C&D and Electronic Tracking ($35,000, FY05)
COMPLETED
Working with WasteCap Wisconsin, WI DNR proposes to
develop a training class for contractors that generate construction debris;
develop an outreach mechanism to promote the toolkit to other contractors in the
state; and develop and implement on-line tracking systems for both C&D and
electronic recycling. The on-line tracking systems will
provide a model for voluntary reporting systems. This approach to data
collection could be used throughout the region.
Federal Electronics Challenge Support COMPLETED
The Federal Electronics Challenge
(FEC) is a program with the goal of promoting a best management practice
system for the Federal government’s electronic waste. With this funding a
contractor will provide technical assistance during the pilot phase and national
launch of the FEC. In addition, tools will be developed to help new partners
realize success. Also, the contract will involve marketing of the FEC and
development of materials for the Challenge. FEC pilot partners will receive
assistance in completing a baseline survey of their electronics management
practices at the beginning and end of the pilot phase. Measures such as the
number of computers donated and recycled will be used to evaluate facility
progress. Technical assistance and feedback is important from partners
because these tools will be used to support implementation of the program.
Toxicity Testing COMPLETE
In response to State
requests for additional toxicity testing, Regions 5 and 4 funded a grant to the
University of Florida to conduct toxicity leaching tests on electronic devices,
including computer mice, keyboards, VCRs, printers, and laptop computers. FINAL
REPORT (PDF, 464K)
Regulatory Clarity COMPLETERegion 5 developed a boilerplate letter (PDF, 66K) describing potential RCRA and CERCLA liability for organizations interested in donating electronic equipment.
GRANT: Market Development for Materials from Electronics
($22,000) COMPELTE
Region 5 funded a grant to the Minnesota
Office of Environmental Assistance for developing markets for plastics recovered
from electronics. FINAL
REPORT (PDF, 268K)
GRANT: Indiana Recycling Coalition E-Scrap Management Toolkit
($5,000) COMPLETE
Region 5 funded a grant to the Indiana
Recycling Coalition to hold a Green Electronics Procurement Workshop in August
2004. The presentations from this workshop were incorporated into the IRC's E-Scrap
Management Toolkit. This best practices manual helps Indiana's local
governments, businesses, non-profits, recyclers, and residents understand how to
manage e-scrap properly.
GRANT: Green Procurement Workshops (5,000 FY04)
COMPLETE
The Indiana
Recycling Coalition will develop a curriculum and implement a “Green
Electronics Procurement” workshop that will train procurement officials on the
local, state and corporate levels. This workshop will help participants to
develop procurement programs and bidding processes that will specify electronic
equipment that is more environmentally sound and therefore, more economic, than
the types of equipment that are being procured today.
National Electronics Product
Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) COMPLETE
This collaborative
effort involved state and federal governments, industry, and NGOs and was
facilitated by the Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies. The goal of
this initiative was to work together to identify shared solutions to reducing,
reusing and recycling electronic waste. The NEPSI group has created an online data
form for electronics collection event coordinators to encourage more
accurate comparisons between computer and electronics recycling programs across
the country.
Testing
High-End Reuse of Engineering Plastics from Used Electronic Products
COMPLETE
The Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency, Sony Electronics, and EPA are working to learn about the barriers
and opportunities to recycling plastics from used electronic products in the
manufacturing of new electronic products. The project seeks to advance the
establishment of closed-loop recycling for engineering plastics. The project is
designed to utilize existing markets to create new, competitive domestic demand
for engineering plastics. It is the intent of project participants that upon
completion of the project new domestic markets for recycled engineering plastics
will exist as self-sustaining, non-subsidized markets.