{"id":11094,"date":"2016-06-13T12:08:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T16:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/?p=11094"},"modified":"2016-06-13T12:08:58","modified_gmt":"2016-06-13T16:08:58","slug":"5-ways-to-get-people-to-recycle-more-electronics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wasteadvantagemag.com\/5-ways-to-get-people-to-recycle-more-electronics\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Get People to Recycle More Electronics"},"content":{"rendered":"
Apple sold a record 74.5 million iPhones in last year\u2019s fourth quarter. That \u201cincredible quarter,\u201d as Apple CEO Tim Cook called it, was due in large part to the debut of the iPhone 6, which prompted millions of people to swap out their old smartphone for a new one. But trading in the old for the new is quickly becoming an almost yearly ritual for many: Rapid advances in technology mean that our cellphones, tablets and TVs are \u201cobsolete\u201d in 18 months. So what happens to all those gadgets once we\u2019re done with them?<\/p>\n
They end up in landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in 2011 only one-quarter of all the electronic waste generated was recycled. At the same time, the United Nations reported that the world\u2019s electronic waste would grow by 33 percent, from almost 50 million tons to more than 65 million tons, between 2012 and 2017.<\/p>\n
The good news is that 25 states and the District of Columbia have electronic recycling laws in place. The laws primarily fall under two models. The first, which is on the books in all but one of these states, is called a \u201cproducer responsibility\u201d approach. Under this model, the manufacturer pays to collect and recycle the products under the law. The other approach is fee-based, in which consumers must pay retailers a fee at the time of purchase. The fee, in turn, is deposited in a statewide recycling fund. This method is so far only in use in California, which was the first state to establish an e-waste recycling law in 2003.<\/p>\n
The bad news is that despite these laws, e-waste is the fastest-growing municipal waste stream in the country, according to the EPA. Still, there are at least five things a state or locality can do to boost electronic recycling rates:<\/p>\n