# Presentation: 214595

## Electronics Stewardship

- Taking the leadership step at DOI

- Viccy Salazar, US EPA

## Goals that Anchor our Work

**Foster environmentally conscious design and manufacturing** to reduce the lifecycle environmental impacts of electronic products;
**Increase purchasing** and use of those electronic products which are more environmentally sustainable;
**Increase reuse and recycling** of used electronics and ensure that the management of used electronics is safe and environmentally sound.

## Four key facts about Federal Government and Electronics

## Fact #1

*Fact #1*

- Approximately **10,000** federally owned computers could be deemed excess or surplus each week
- The Federal Government is setting **Environmentally Sound Management guidelines** for itself to ensure it is responsibly managing its electronic assets!

**From This**

**To This**

## Fact #2 - The Federal government is a huge procurer of consumer electronics

- With 1.8 million employees, the U.S. Federal sector represents a **significant market share** for electronics – About 7% of the total market
- FY 2003 IT budget – approximately **$53 BILLION** (Hardware & Services)
- Projected FY 2004 IT budget – approximately  **$59 BILLION** (Hardware & Services)

## Fact #3 – Electronics represent serious environmental costs and opportunities

- Electronic equipment contains hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, chromium, cadmium, and beryllium.
- And valuable metals such as aluminum and copper and precious metals - gold, silver, platinum and palladium.
- Components can be reused, recycled,  or reclaimed in the current marketplace.

**This is important to the Federal Government**

## Fact #4 - The Federal government’s purchase and use of electronics are not sustainable.

- Average life cycle of  Federally owned computers is 3 years
- Significant quantities are ending up in storage closets, warehouses, or landfills
- Liability Avoidance  and Environmental Stewardship are important to the Federal Community

## Liability

- CERCLA, RCRA, State, Illegal

## CERCLA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
- Establishes a fund for cleanup when responsible parties can not be identified
- Full text of CERCLA: _[http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/ch103.html](http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/ch103.html)_

## CERCLA Liability

- Is strict and joint and several –
- Any party that ever sent any waste to the facility is potentially fully liable for cleanup
- The liability is applied regardless of what was sent, and what the contamination is
- A party can not be released from this liability
- May require cleanup costs be paid years, or decades, later
- Citizen suites can also be used to collect costs

**Notes:**
Citizen suites – means that even if not named a PRP by the EPA, there is creates the opportunity for the PRP to sue others that sent material to the site so that they can recover their costs.

## How a generator could become liable for cleanup costs

- If a generator sends electronics to a recycler that releases toxins and goes out of business, then anyone who sent material to the recycler could be liable for cleanup costs
- 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 there is the risk of CERCLA liability if the site begins to release hazardous substances.

## RCRAResource Conservation and Recovery Act

- Provides “cradle to grave” hazardous waste management authority
- Includes generation, treatment, and storage of hazardous waste
- Regulates active facilities
- EPA ID numbers are issued to facilities that handle waste; it is not a certification of their work
- 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 parties responsible for the facility in the event of a release
- CERCLA generally defers regulatory control to RCRA
- An EPA 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
- It is not a certification of responsible management 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 stricter than federal rules.
- Enforcement may be by:
- State or local agency
- EPA
- Citizen suit provisions of RCRA

## Liability in regards to the sale of electronics

- Generally, selling 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

## State to State Variation

- CERCLA and RCRA are two federal laws covering hazardous waste management
- States are required to adopt these standards, or create their own
- Any state specific standards must be stricter than the federal rules
- Contact your state and local officials for information about any local rules
- For individual situations, contact your facility’s legal counsel.

## Illegal dumping

- In some states the waste generator can be held responsible if waste is 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

## Example: A Sham Recycler Abandons Electronic Waste

- Many groups had paid the recycler thinking that he 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 get 90 days in jail.
- Because the landlord is losing rent she has taken it upon herself to clean up the waste.
- To recover her cleanup costs, potentially over $100,000; she may sue the waste generators.
- Since the recycler abandoned the material and stopped paying rent over a year ago, the landlord may attempt to recover lost rent from the generators.

## A Federal Enforcement Example

- In 2000 the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Boston was caught placing electronic equipment in dumpsters for disposal.
- This is a violation of state law and RCRA
- Massachusetts has a landfill ban for CRTs
- They attempted to dispose of over 220 lbs. of 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 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 and no further action was taken by EPA

## How to Minimize Liability

- Only sell or donate working equipment
- Responsibly manage unusable materials - RECYCLE
- Do not assume that a buyer will properly handle equipment that parts were taken from for repair
- Be tough when evaluating equipment – don’t pass problem equipment on to others
- Selling or donating unusable equipment is unfair, and may make it difficult to find groups to take working equipment in the future.

## How to Minimize Liability

- Work with the recipients of donations so they know how to, and will, properly manage EOL equipment
- Educate them about the issues of electronic waste
- Offer them lists of recyclers
- Discuss how to facilitate recycling
- Donating group takes back the equipment for recycling
- Allowing recipients to make use of existing recycling services contracts
- Other options?

## EPEAT

- Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool

## What is  		 ?

- *multi-stakeholder process to develop a tool for
-   evaluating the environmental performance of
-    electronic products (focusing on PCs and monitors).
- Promote continuous improvement
- Address the entire product lifecycle
- Inform purchasing decisions by institutional purchasers
- Provide market advantage for green products
- Be low cost, user friendly, and causes minimal delay in time to market;
- Produces credible, verifiable outcomes.

##               The Basics

- Structure of Tool
- 	-EPEAT org defines criteria & data needs
- 	-Multi-tier (3) ratings
- 	-Manufacturer self assesses product to criteria;           submits declaration to EPEAT org via web; maintains support data
- 	-Validation Process:
- 		-Signed manufacturer assurances
- 		-After-market spot-checks
- Multi-attribute environmental criteria will build on or adopt criteria from existing systems
- Criteria based on agreed upon principles

##               			Principles for                Selecting Criteria

- Promote Toxics Reduction/Phase Out
- Promote Materials Efficiency
- Promote Energy Efficiency
- Promote Extended Product Life and Sustainable EOL Management
- Promote Environmentally Sound Manufacturing

## 			The Criteria

- Base set of mandatory criteria (from all categories)
- 32 optional criteria in 8 different categories
- Reduce Eliminate Environmentally Sensitive Materials
- Material Selection
- Design for End-of-life
- Product Longevity/Lifecycle Extension
- Energy Conservation
- End-of-Life Management
- Corporate Performance
- Packaging

##              	  Step by Step

- Manufacturer signs an MOU with EPEAT
- Manufacturer evaluates products against EPEAT criteria
- Three levels of achievement... Green (Bronze), Greener (Silver), Greenest (Gold)
- Self-certifies that product meets EPEAT and level
- EPEAT Organization verifies claims on X% of product to ensure quality and validity

## 				Status

- 3 Areas of Focus for development
**	****-Tool Structure: Finalized**
** ****	****-Attributes/Criteria: Finalized**
**	****-Host Organization: In the thick of it**
**	****- Final Development Team meeting Nov 8, 9 and 10 in DC**
- Implementation (Formed at Nov. Meeting)
- 	-**Just getting started: 2005**
**	****-Piloting in mid 2005 **
**	****-Final tool in early 2006**
- Marketing
- Working with purchasers to ensure widespread adoption

## 				What do I do NOW?

- EPEAT I-team is developing an interim plan for purchasers who are ready to purchase now.
- Expect a draft by the end of 2004
- Will include bid specs and ways to evaluate criteria before the tool is completed.
- Communicate your expectations to manufacturers that you want green products
- Communicate with your purchasing staff on the need for greener electronics and WHY!