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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