E-Waste. History, Current Status, Potential for Change. JoAnn Gemenden, Union County & Carole Tolmachewich, Middlesex County.

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1 E-Waste History, Current Status, Potential for Change JoAnn Gemenden, Union County & Carole Tolmachewich, Middlesex County History Why is e-waste a problem? Computers and televisions contain hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants E-waste comprises about 2% of the municipal solid waste stream Many third world counties have been polluted by e-waste generated in the United States and shipped overseas by unscrupulous recyclers 1

2 In the beginning The first government sponsored e-waste collection events began around As of 2008, all 21 Counties had an e-waste collection program 10 counties had permanent collection sites. 13 Counties ran 44 one-day collection events. 147 Municipal e-waste programs (drop-off/curbside collection). Collections as of 2009 County Collections Municipal Collections 2

3 Education Education Campaigns were developed Rural Ad Education Urban Ad 3

4 Costs to the Counties for these programs ranged from free to $.29/pound depending upon the services provided. For many Counties, annual program costs exceeded $100,000 Cost variables included: Manpower Transportation Market Value of Commodities Container service versus manned drop-off Restrictions on out-of-country disposal In 2010, a new law was passed the Electronic Waste Management Act! Covered Electronic Device (CED) included: television, computer, computer monitor, laptop or tablet Manufacturers were required to provide free and convenient program for CED s Required television and computer manufacturers to submit plans to NJDEP based on a market (televisions) or return (computers) share Programs must be started by January 1, 2011 Disposal ban in effect on January 1, 2011 Programs shall accept all types and all brands Manufacturers needed to also pay annual registration fee of $5000 P.L. 2007, c.347 as amended by P.L c.130 (N.J.S.A. 13:1E et seq.) 4

5 The program worked well for a few years Cars drove in Dropped off their e-waste 5

6 And at the end of the day it was all cleaned up.. The program was considered a success!! 6

7 Until the fall of The market for CRT s crashed Once manufacturers met their quota, many stopped paying recyclers for additional material or stopped collecting In-State Recyclers were overlooked in favor of cheaper out of state recyclers Manufacturers and recyclers were looking at the lowest cost solutions which meant the high population areas were being serviced first In order to drive down collection costs, many bids came in with costs to be borne by the municipality/county or no bids at all This led to many desperate municipalities and counties taking whatever bid they could in order to sustain a program 7

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9 Road to Change As the negative impacts of the troubled program began to spread across NJ, ANJHHWC, ANJR, NJAC, local governments and in-state recyclers began working together to change the law. The first proposed legislation was approved by the Senate and Assembly at the end of 2015, but vetoed by the Governor in Then, S-981 was approved by the Senate and Assembly at the end of 2016 and signed into Law by the Governor on January 9, 2017!! Now What?? 9

10 Amendments Adds State entity, school district or local government unit to definition of consumer. Adds desktop printer, desktop fax machine to CEDs list. Amends definition of cathode ray tube to include any cathode ray tube that is broken, damaged, or separated from its host television or other device. Deletes return share (which was the allocation that computers were previously based on) and allocates all consumer electronics by market share. Market share calculation is given as an estimate to each manufacturer and can be adjusted based upon the weight collected. Amendments (cont d) Adds a section that permits (not mandates!) the DEP to establish a statewide standard program (SSP) for the collection, transportation and recycling of CEDs. If the DEP establishes a SSP, there are certain convenience designations that must be followed. Manufacturers with a 10% or less market share must participate in the SSP. Manufacturers with a market share greater than 10% may participate in the SSP or submit their own plan to the DEP. If the DEP establishes a SSP, a local government unit can be reimbursed by the SSP at the per pound rate established by the NJDEP. Every authorized recycler must register and is charged a $15,000 annual fee. Existing NJ Class D facilities that are in compliance with their general approvals are exempt. 10

11 Reporting Requirements Every collection location for CEDs must submit a semiannual report detailing the weights of CEDs collected and the authorized recycler used. Every authorized recycler must report the address of each collection location they service, the weight collected at each location and the facility and markets for the materials semiannually. Manufacturers must submit reports semiannually. Failure to Comply A manufacturer that fails to meet its market share obligation will be assessed a $.50/pound fee. A new fund will be established which will have funds deposited from enforcement actions, manufacturer obligation failure payments, manufacturer SSP payments and authorized recycler annual fees (but not manufacturer registration fees). The fund will be used to pay for administration costs, enforcement costs, the SSP (if established) as well as any illegal dumping/abandoned of CEDs. 11

12 Implementation Questions How will the DEP ensure that all of New Jersey is covered by manufacturers programs? The definition of convenient is the key to this question. When and in what form (policy, regulation, formula) will DEP determine that sufficient numbers and locations of electronics collection opportunities are available in each county? What criteria/benchmarks will the DEP establish that would lead to the initiation of a Statewide Standard Plan? Questions (cont d) What is DEP's intent regarding the timing of including printers and fax machines in the program? The mandate to accept broken CRTs also appears to be immediate. Can DEP confirm and communicate this to all parties without delay? What about Tablets (I-Pads, E-Readers, etc.)? The definition of CEDs excludes any hand-held device used to access commercial mobile data service. Do tablets meet the definition of a hand-held device? Please clarify whether tablets are still considered CEDs. 12

13 Questions (cont d) What level of support can Government sites anticipate? Are vendors expected to provide free collection events for every County or large city programs? Can local government be reimbursed for labor costs? Can vendors require towns to generate minimum weights to receive service? Can the DEP reaffirm that vendors are required to provide pallets, gaylords and shrink wrap? Questions (cont d) When should schools & local governments expect free service? If recycling costs are incurred for CEDs in 2017, can they expect reimbursement? When do will market share numbers go into effect? When do will non class D facilities need to pay their fee? When are the first semiannual reports (for recyclers, manufacturers and collection sites) due? 13

14 Excerpt from February 2, 2017 NJDEP letter: Accordingly, compliance with N.J.A.C. 7:26A-7.4 and 7.5 is the only facet of a collection site operation that is the responsibility of the collection site: therefore, all other activities that may be associated with collecting CEDs including, but not limited to, handling, unloading, sorting, loading, palletizing, shrink wrapping, transporting or weighing, are the responsibility of the manufacturer and those entities providing recycling and/or transporting services on behalf of the manufacturer. Excerpt from February 2, 2017 NJDEP letter (con t) Manufacturers and Authorized Recyclers acting on behalf of manufacturers therefore are prohibited from imposing any other recycling-related requirements (and/or associated costs) on collection sites that collect CEDs from consumers, and any imposition of such requirements/costs will result in material collected at that site not being counted towards a manufacturer's collection obligation. The Department does not object to Authorized Recyclers working with collection sites to pick-up CEDs only once a container is full, or there is a full trailer-load quantity of material to pick up. 14

15 Contact Info JoAnn Gemenden & Carole Tolmachewich