Vermont Governor Signs Electronics Recycling Bill - News Story - WPTZ Plattsburgh

Vermont Governor Signs Electronics Recycling Bill - News Story - WPTZ Plattsburgh

Burlington Free Press - April 20, 2010

Gov. Douglas signs Vermont e-recycling bill

GLENN RUSSELL, Free Press

Robin Ingenthron (left) of Good Point Recycling in Middlebury and Lee Tuure, operations manager at the Chittenden Solid Waste District’s drop-off center in Williston, load up a truck with e-waste Monday. Gov. Jim Douglas signed an e-waste bill Monday at the facility.

MONTPELIER — Vermonters will have an easier time recycling their old, unwanted televisions, computers and printers with a law Gov. Jim Douglas signed Monday.

The bill puts the burden of paying for recycling the electronic waste on the manufactures of the products, who must register with the state and pay a $5,000 fee starting in July, with an annual fee to be determined next year. The money will go to make free recycling drop-off centers available in every county starting next year.

Currently, fees to dispose of electronics at Chittenden Solid Waste District drop-off centers run from $1 for a keyboard or a computer mouse to $15 for large TVs.

Vermont is the 21st state to adopt an e-waste law. Solid waste districts and municipalities had paid for recycling programs previously.

The state generates about 1.5 million tons of electronic waste a year, said Clare Innes, spokeswoman for CSWD.

Innes noted that because manufacturers will have the responsibility of paying for recycling, they will have incentive to make the products last longer and to build them with fewer toxic substances. An LCD TV, for example, contains 22 lamps with mercury, requiring the TV to be dismantled to reach the bulbs for recycling, she said, citing information from the national group Electronics Takeback Coalition.

“We have no control over how these products are designed, manufactured, marketed and sold, but ultimately it is local government that is left with trying to capture and recycle these products when they are being discarded. This legislation changes that model and provides the consumer with a convenient and consistent statewide collection system that we lack today,” said Jen Holliday, CSWD environmental and safety compliance manager.