Minnesota鈥檚聽e-waste bill has been signed by the state鈥檚 governor, while a proposed bill in North Carolina would repeal that state鈥檚 electronic recycling program,聽Waste Dive reports. Minnesota鈥檚 new legislation removes some electronics, including laptops and tablets, from the 鈥渧ideo display devices鈥� category because of their higher resale and component recovery value. Recycling companies will no longer be allowed to charge for collection of these electronics and must hold third-party certification.
In North Carolina, lawmakers who support the repeal say the 2010 bill, which banned e-waste from landfills, has been unsuccessful and led to an increase in illegal dumping. They say once commodity prices rise, the e-recycling program could be reinstated.
While 27 states and the District of Columbia have e-recycling laws on the books, 22 states don鈥檛 鈥� and聽state laws fall short because of lack of funding or loopholes in take-back mandates, according to Electronic Recyclers International. The organization says one major reason why e-waste recycling and reuse is struggling in the US is because there is聽no federal e-waste law聽that requires the recycling of electronic waste or prohibits it from being exported to developing countries.
Despite Minnesota鈥檚 new e-waste regulations, several states have moved in the opposite direction, according to Waste Dive.聽West Virginia聽reversed聽a ban on landfilling some e-waste. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill to update the state鈥檚 e-waste program聽earlier this year.聽Rhode Island聽and the聽Chicago area聽recently closed collection sites because of lack of funding.
New York state鈥檚 e-waste recycling law is also under scrutiny because it costs local governments too much money and is 鈥渘ot working as intended,鈥� according to local waste management officials.
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