# Presentation: 735563

## Recycling Electronics and Asset Disposition(READ)  Services

**An EPA GWAC**

## What is a GWAC?

- A Government Wide Acquisition Contract is defined as
-   “a task order contract for IT services.”
- Rooted in the Clinger-Cohen Act
- 	& the Federal Acquisition
- 	Streamlining Act
- Contracts established by one
- 	agency for Government-wide use
- Operated by an Executive Agency
- 	designated by the OMB

## FAR Definition of GWAC

- “Government-wide Acquisition Contract” is a task order contract for information technology supplies or services by one Agency for government-wide use that is operated by an Executive Agent designated by the Office of Management and Budget  (OMB) pursuant to Section 511(e) of the Clinger-Cohen Act, 40 U.S.C. 1412
- The Economy Act does not apply to GWACs.

## OMB GWAC Authority

- EPA responsibilities include:
- conduct contract level competition;
- issue task order awards through fair opportunity procedures;
- assist customer agencies with task order placement and administration;
- provide reporting information to OMB.

## READ Services include:

- Recycling obsolete equipment;
- Logistical assistance for equipment pick-up or equipment redeployment;
- Reclamation of re-useable electronic items;
- Data security – safe disposal of sensitive or classified information;
- Reporting functions – real-time on-line audit trail of electronic component’s final destination; and
- Share-in-Savings techniques to offset the recycling costs.

## EPA READ Contractors:

- Supplychain Services Inc. (SSI), Lombard, IL.;
- Molam International, Marietta, GA;
- Asset Recovery Corp, St. Paul MN;
- Liquidity Services Inc. (LSI), Washington DC;
- Hesstech, LLC, Edison, NJ;
- HOBI International, Battavia, IL;
- Global investment Recovery (GIR), Tampa FL.
- Please see _[www.epa.gov/oam/read](http://www.epa.gov/oam/read)_ for additional facility locations

## READ Contracts

- 5-year Period of Performance (thru 12/09)
- Fully-competed Multiple Award, Fixed Rate - Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (FR-IDIQ) contracts
- Flexible Statement of Objectives (SOO)
- Performance Based Task Orders
- Complete Small Business Set Aside
- Share-in-Savings Opportunities

## Current Federal Disposition Practices

- Almost all agencies follow the Federal Property Regulation (FPMR) procedures for electronic asset disposition.
- GSA disposes of excess electronic property through either Federal donation, E.O. 12999 (Computers for Learning), public auction, or a schedule scrap contractor.
- A few Federal facilities use UNICOR for recycling electronics.
- Most agencies have no record of their property’s final destination.

## Benefits of Using READ Services

- Reduce potential liabilities associated with improper disposal by having an audit trail of equipment’s final destination;
- Meet end-of-life goals established under E.O. 13101, “Greening the Government”;
- Promote improved end-of-life (EOL) management practices throughout Federal sector by encouraging an infrastructure for re-use and recycling of electronics;
- Meet Federal Electronic Challenge (FEC) goals for proper ESM and end-of-life management;
- Reduce potential hazards associated with improper e-waste disposal.

## Why use READ?

## Current Improper Practices

## Current Improper Practices (cont.)

## 6:00 PM News Factor

## Typical Federal Conference Room

## How much equipment is out there?

- With 2M Federal employees and an average PC life cycle of 3-years, EPA estimates that the Federal sector disposes of approx 10K PCs per week.
- EPA estimates that in 2001, 2.2 million tons of consumer electronics entered the municipal waste stream:
- This included PCs, TVs, video and audio products, telephones, faxes, printers and modems.
- The National Safety Council projects that nearly 250 million computers will become obsolete in the next 5 years.
- By 2005, Americans will be discarding about 130 million cell phones per year.
- E-waste currently makes up about 2% of the municipal waste stream and this is projected to increases.

## What about Recycling?  

- Recycling makes a big difference!
- Currently, only between 11% and 14% of all discarded electronics are being recycled.

- Federal Agencies can make a difference in ensuring that environmentally sound recycling is available and actually happens.

## E-Waste Contents

- Valuable resources that could be reused (e.g., various metals, circuits, wiring).
- Materials that might be considered toxic or hazardous under RCRA.
- Materials for which we don’t know the environmental implications.
- 	*These materials don’t pose a problem during normal use and operation.  However, if disposed of in a landfill, incinerated or improperly recycled, they may be released into the environment and cause environmental or human health harm.
- *OECD Report, Feb 18, 2003

## Substances of Concern

- According to the Feb 2003 OECD report, the following substances of concern may be present in electronic equipment:
- Lead – in CRT monitors and circuit boards;
- Mercury – in flat panel displays and some older switches;
- Cadmium – small amount in plated contacts and switches. Laptop computers often contain Ni-Cd batteries;
- Chlorine and/or Bromine – may be present in flame retardants in the plastic printed circuit boards and cases.  There is also chlorine in PVC insulation of wires and cables;
- Beryllium – for conductivity in the motherboard.

## Liability

- Is there potential liability with improper electronics management?
- YES

## CERCLARCRACivilState Regulations

- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act , also known as Superfund, addresses abandoned and closed hazardous waste sites; uses administrative orders that requires one or more parties to conduct the cleanup; holds those responsible for the release of hazardous waste liable for the cleanup costs and consideration for affected parties; and establishes a fund for cleanup when responsible parties can not be identified.
- A party can not be released from CERCLA liability – not even via RCRA.
- Full text of CERCLA: _[http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/ch103.html](http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/ch103.html)_

## How a generator could become liable for cleanup costs

- If a generator sends electronics to a recycler that releases toxins and then goes out of business, anyone who sent material to the recycler could be liable for cleanup costs, unless proper due diligence was performed.
- There is always the possibility of liability if a recycler mismanages material and has a release of toxic materials.
- If a facility disposes of, or arranges for disposal of, electronics in a landfill or other disposal site, then there is the risk of CERCLA, RCRA, Civil or State liability.

## RCRAResource Conservation and Recovery Act

- Provides “cradle to grave” hazardous waste management authority;
- Includes generation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste;
- Regulates active facilities;
- EPA ID numbers are issued to facilities that handle waste; it is not a certification of their work
- EPA info on RCRA
- http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/
- Full text of RCRA: _[http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/ch82.html](http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/ch82.html)_

## RCRA Liability

- Liability applies to the owner/operator/handler  responsible in the event of a release.
- An EPA RCRA identification number is not an assurance of good environmental practice
- Allows for monitoring the volume of waste generated;
- Prevents registered generators from dealing with non-registered parties; and
- It is not a certification of responsible environmental management approved by the EPA.

**Notes:**
Registered would mean EPA ID’d

## RCRA Liability

- Generally, a facility that disposes of over 220 lbs. of hazardous waste a month becomes a small quantity generator.
- This is about 8 CRT containing monitors.
- This weight is the total weight of the hazardous electronic equipment, not just the hazardous component.
- Local hazardous waste rules may be more stringent than federal rules.
- Enforcement may be by:
- State or local agency
- EPA
- Citizen suit provisions of RCRA

## Liability Issues with regard to the sale of electronics

- Generally, selling or donating a useful product releases the seller from liability.
- However, if usable products are sold with unusable materials this could be considered arranging for disposal.
- If the buyer improperly manages the unusable material there is potential for the seller to be liable.
- Proper and documented due diligence is the key to preventing liability.

## Management of Sensitive Information

- Regulatory requirements are in place that mandate the protection of confidential and privileged information:
- Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (Gramm-Leach-Biley Act) imposes requirements on the broad definition of financial institutions _[http://](http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact/)__[www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact](http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact/)__[/](http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact/)_;
- Medical Privacy Regulations (HIPAA) provides for protection of medical records and personal health information;
- General Privacy Act requirements;
- Both criminal and civil penalties can apply
- Sensitive information
- Beware of what information may be on disk drives or removable media;
- If unable to verify the sensitivity of the information contained on the media, do not release it.  Seek advice from the material’s originator

## Irresponsible Handling of Electronic Equipment

- In most states, the waste generator can be held responsible if waste is improperly disposed or illegally dumped.
- These laws have been used to stop dumping or recover cleanup costs as shown in the following example.

## Example: A Sham Recycler Abandons Electronic Waste

- In Minnesota, a ‘recycler’ collected electronic waste from schools, businesses, and not-for-profits
- The ‘recycler’ retrieved components of value and abandoned low value materials in a rented warehouse.

## Example:  A Sham Recycler Abandons Electronic Waste

- Many groups paid the recycler thinking that they would properly recycle the material.
- Other groups had donated the material to a third party that sent the equipment to the ‘recycler’ for processing.
- No one expected to ever hear about the equipment again.

## Example: A Sham Recycler Abandons Electronic Waste

- There was a judgment against the recycler: clean it up in five months or receive 90 days in jail.
- Because the landlord was losing rent, they took it upon themselves to clean up the waste.
- To recover the cleanup costs, potentially over $100,000; the landlord sued the waste generators.
- Since the recycler abandoned the material and stopped paying rent for over a year, the landlord sued the generators, not the recycler, to recover lost rent.  The basis was because the generators did not conduct due diligence on the recycler.

## A Federal Enforcement Example

- In 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Boston was caught by state regulators placing obsolete electronic equipment in dumpsters for disposal.
- This is a violation of Massachusetts state law and RCRA
- Massachusetts has a landfill ban for CRTs
- DHHS attempted to dispose of over 250 lbs. of potential hazardous waste

## A Federal Enforcement Example

- EPA was able to issue a Notice of Violation (NOV) and impounded the dumpster the same day.
- The potential maximum fine for this type of violation was $27,500 per violation
- EPA’s NOV required DHHS to remove their waste from the dumpster and manage it correctly.
- DHHS sent the material to a local recycler, conducted due dilegence, and no further action was taken by EPA.

## READ Accomplishments	

- Received OMB approval as an Executive Agent for e-waste disposal on 3/19/04;
- Awarded 7 contracts on 12/15/04;
- After resolution of protests, the first orders were issued May, 2005;
- Completed on-site audits of READ contractors in 9/30/06;
- To date, have issued over 15 task orders for  seven agencies, including FEMA, Education, ATF, National Park Service, and DOE.

## On-Site Audit of Hesstech, Inc.

- Properly stack and wrap collected items for transportation.
- Test all items for potential re-use before sending to recycle area.

## Hesstech Audit (cont.)

## READ Services: The Next Steps

- Coordinate efforts with EPA’s Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC);
- Complete on-site audits of selected contractors and subcontractors.
- Compete each Customer Agency’s Task Order;
- Provide Contract Administration and Task Order Placement Support;
- Monitor and track customer satisfaction and contractor past performance;
- Additional Info. @  _[www.epa.gov/oam/read](http://www.epa.gov/oam/hpod)_ or contact _[voss.oliver@epa.gov](mailto:voss.oliver@epa.gov)_ @ 202-564-4514, or _[fuller.david@epa.gov](mailto:fuller.david@epa.gov)_ @ 564-4767.