II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1270 

To prohibit the export from the United States of certain electronic waste, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2011 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, and Ms. MURKOWSKI) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To prohibit the export from the United States of certain 

electronic waste, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsible Elec5 tronics Recycling Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ELECTRONIC WASTE EXPORT RESTRICTIONS. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle C of the Solid Waste 

8 Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6921 et seq.) is amended by add9 ing at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3024. ELECTRONIC WASTE EXPORT RESTRICTIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 24 

3 months after the date of enactment of this section, no per4 son shall export restricted electronic waste to a country 

5 described in subsection (e). 

6 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS; RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For 

7 purposes of this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) CONSIGNEE.—The term ‘consignee’ means 

9 the ultimate repair, refurbishment, treatment, stor10 age, or disposal facility in a receiving country to 

11 which restricted electronic waste will be sent. 

12 ‘‘(2) COVERED ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘covered 

14 electronic equipment’ means the following used 

15 items, whole or in fragments, including parts, 

16 components, or assemblies thereof: 

17 ‘‘(i) Computers. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Central processing units. 

19 ‘‘(iii) Mobile computers (including 

20 notebooks, netbooks, tablets, and e-book 

21 readers). 

22 ‘‘(iv) Computer accessories (including 

23 input devices, webcams, speakers, data 

24 storage devices, servers, and monitors). 

25 ‘‘(v) Televisions (including portable 

26 televisions and portable DVD players). 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Video display devices (including 

2 digital picture frames and portable video 

3 devices). 

4 ‘‘(vii) Digital imaging devices (includ5 ing printers, copiers, facsimile machines, 

6 image scanners, and multifunction ma7 chines). 

8 ‘‘(viii) Television peripheral devices 

9 (including video cassette recorders, DVD 

10 players, video game systems, game control11 lers, signal converter boxes, and cable and 

12 satellite receivers). 

13 ‘‘(ix) Digital cameras and projectors. 

14 ‘‘(x) Digital audio players. 

15 ‘‘(xi) Telephones and electronic com16 munication equipment (including cellular 

17 phones and wireless internet communica18 tion devices). 

19 ‘‘(xii) Networking devices (including 

20 routers, network cards, modems, and 

21 hubs). 

22 ‘‘(xiii) Audio equipment. 

23 ‘‘(xiv) Portable video game systems. 

24 ‘‘(xv) Personal digital assistants. 


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1 ‘‘(xvi) Portable global positioning sys2 tem navigation devices. 

3 ‘‘(xvii) Other used electronic products 

4 the Administrator determines to be similar 

5 under the procedures promulgated in ac6 cordance with subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The term ‘covered elec8 tronic equipment’ shall not include parts of a 

9 motor vehicle. 

10 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTED ELECTRONIC WASTE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘restricted 

12 electronic waste’ means— 

13 ‘‘(i) items of covered electronic equip14 ment, that include, contain, are derived 

15 from, or consist of— 

16 ‘‘(I) cathode ray tubes or cathode 

17 ray tube glass in any form, or cathode 

18 ray tube phosphor residues or dusts in 

19 any form; 

20 ‘‘(II) a lamp or other device con21 taining mercury phosphor; 

22 ‘‘(III) batteries containing— 

23 ‘‘(aa) lead, cadmium, or 

24 mercury; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) organic solvents exhib2 iting the characteristic of ignit3 ability, as defined in section 

4 261.21 of title 40, Code of Fed5 eral Regulations; 

6 ‘‘(IV) switches or any other de7 vices containing mercury; 

8 ‘‘(V) hexavalent chromium; 

9 ‘‘(VI) other than batteries de10 scribed in subclause (III), items con11 taining antimony, barium, cadmium, 

12 lead, thallium, beryllium, arsenic, or 

13 selenium, including— 

14 ‘‘(aa) circuit boards; 

15 ‘‘(bb) printer drums; 

16 ‘‘(cc) liquid crystal displays; 

17 ‘‘(dd) flatscreen glass; and 

18 ‘‘(ee) light emitting diodes; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(ii) any other covered electronic 

21 equipment, or materials derived therefrom, 

22 containing any other toxic material, in ele23 mental or compound form, identified by 

24 the Administrator under subsection (c). 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘restricted 

2 electronic waste’ shall not apply to items de3 scribed in this subparagraph. 

4 ‘‘(i) DE MINIMIS.—Covered electronic 

5 equipment described in subparagraphs 

6 (A)(i)(VI) and (A)(ii), including separated 

7 component streams (such as plastics or 

8 metals), which does not exceed de minimis 

9 levels set by the Administrator under sub10 section (d). 

11 ‘‘(ii) REUSE.—Covered electronic 

12 equipment that is— 

13 ‘‘(I) tested prior to export pursu14 ant to subsection (i)(1), and found to 

15 be— 

16 ‘‘(aa) functional for the pur17 pose for which the equipment 

18 was designed, or, in the case of 

19 multifunction devices, fully func20 tional for at least one of the pri21 mary purposes for which the 

22 equipment was designed; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) appropriately pack24 aged for shipment to prevent the 

25 equipment from losing 


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1 functionality due to damage dur2 ing transit; and 

3 ‘‘(II) appropriately labeled or 

4 marked pursuant to subsection 

5 (i)(3)(A). 

6 ‘‘(iii) CERTAIN CATHODE RAY TUBE

7 GLASS.—Furnace-ready cathode ray tube 

8 glass cullet, cleaned of all phosphors, to be 

9 used as a direct feedstock in a lead-glass 

10 manufacturing furnace without further 

11 processing or preparation required other 

12 than quality control, which the competent 

13 authority in the importing country states 

14 in writing is not waste. 

15 ‘‘(iv) WARRANTIES.—Customer re16 turns, to point of sale, to original equip17 ment manufacturers, or to contractual 

18 warranty collectors, of recently purchased 

19 covered electronic equipment that is ei20 ther— 

21 ‘‘(I) under original equipment 

22 manufacturer warranty to customers; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(II) under warranty from the 

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1 nal component manufacturer to the 

2 original equipment manufacturer, or 

3 otherwise returned by the original 

4 purchaser of the electronic equipment, 

5 due to defect or customer dissatisfac6 tion, and the manufacturer accepts 

7 such returns for the purposes of re8 pair or replacement in order to return 

9 to the customer a functional working 

10 product or part of the same type and 

11 model, except that products and parts 

12 covered in this subparagraph shall not 

13 include— 

14 ‘‘(aa) covered electronic 

15 equipment accepted for return 

16 from individuals or businesses 

17 under general takeback, recy18 cling, trade-in (for purposes of 

19 recycling, disposal, sales pro20 motions, or obtaining credit for 

21 product purchases or leases) or 

22 buy-back programs, events, or 

23 policies designed to collect used 

24 or waste electronic equipment; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) covered electronic 

2 equipment returned at the end of 

3 leases to customers; or 

4 ‘‘(cc) covered electronic 

5 equipment collected by asset re6 covery programs. 

7 ‘‘(v) RECALLS.—Recalls of covered 

8 electronic equipment by an original equip9 ment manufacturer, original design manu10 facturer, or original component manufac11 turer where— 

12 ‘‘(I) the covered electronic equip13 ment is subject to recall notice issued 

14 by the Consumer Product Safety 

15 Commission or other pertinent Fed16 eral authority; 

17 ‘‘(II) the original design manu18 facturer or original component manu19 facturer requires the defective covered 

20 electronic equipment to be physically 

21 returned to that manufacturer as a 

22 term of the warranty; and 

23 ‘‘(III) any export of recalled cov24 ered electronic equipment is to a 

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1 thority the Administrator receives 

2 written consent pursuant to sub3 section (h)(2). 

4 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING

5 CHEMICAL ELEMENTS.—Any reference to a chemical 

6 element shall be construed to be a reference to that 

7 element in compound or elemental form. 

8 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL COVERED ELECTRONIC EQUIP9 MENT AND RESTRICTED MATERIALS.—Not later than 18 

10 months after the date of enactment of this section, the 

11 Administrator shall, after notice and opportunity for pub12 lic comment, and after consultation with appropriate Fed13 eral and State agencies, develop and promulgate proce14 dures for identifying— 

15 ‘‘(1) similar electronic equipment to add to the 

16 list of covered electronic equipment under subsection 

17 (b)(2); and 

18 ‘‘(2) additional restricted toxic materials to add 

19 to the list in subsection (b)(3)(A)(ii), the presence of 

20 which in covered electronic equipment poses a poten21 tial hazard to human health or the environment. 

22 Such procedures shall include a method for any interested 

23 party to propose a new product or material for review by 

24 the Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(d) DE MINIMIS LEVELS.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of enactment of this section, the 

3 Administrator shall, after notice and opportunity for pub4 lic comment, and after consultation with appropriate Fed5 eral and State agencies, develop and promulgate proce6 dures for identifying de minimis levels for restricted elec7 tronic waste described in subparagraphs (A)(i)(VI) and 

8 (A)(ii) of subsection (b)(3), below which such waste is de9 termined by the Administrator not to pose a potential haz10 ard to human health or the environment. 

11 ‘‘(e) COUNTRIES TO WHICH PROHIBITION AP12 PLIES.—The countries referred to in subsection (a) are all 

13 countries which are not— 

14 ‘‘(1) members of the Organization for Economic 

15 Co-operation and Development or the European 

16 Union; or 

17 ‘‘(2) Liechtenstein. 

18 ‘‘(f) NOTICE TO ADMINISTRATOR.—No person shall 

19 export covered electronic equipment described in sub20 section (b)(3)(B) to a country described in subsection (e) 

21 unless, not later than 60 days before the initial export 

22 shipment, such person transmits to the Administrator 

23 written notice of an intended export. Such a notification 

24 may cover export activities extending over a maximum of 

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1 ment, exported to the same facility via the same transit 

2 countries. The notification shall include the following in3 formation: 

4 ‘‘(1) The name, mailing address, telephone 

5 number, and if applicable, the Environmental Pro6 tection Agency or Resource Conservation and Recov7 ery Act identification number. 

8 ‘‘(2) Documentation of licensing of the exporter 

9 under subsection (g). 

10 ‘‘(3) The name and site address of the con11 signee and any alternate consignee. 

12 ‘‘(4) A statement from the exporter that in13 cludes— 

14 ‘‘(A) a description of the type and total 

15 quantity of covered electronic equipment that 

16 will be exported to the consignee; 

17 ‘‘(B) the estimated frequency or rate at 

18 which such covered electronic equipment is to 

19 be exported, and the period of time over which 

20 such covered electronic equipment is to be ex21 ported; 

22 ‘‘(C) all points of entry to and departure 

23 from each country through which the covered 

24 electronic equipment will pass in transit; 


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1 ‘‘(D) a description of the means by which 

2 each shipment of the covered electronic equip3 ment will be transported, including the mode of 

4 transportation and type or types of container; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(E) a description of the manner in which 

7 the covered electronic equipment will be treated, 

8 stored, or disposed of in the receiving country. 

9 ‘‘(5) A list of all transit countries through 

10 which the covered electronic equipment will be trans11 ported, and a description of the approximate length 

12 of time the covered electronic equipment will remain 

13 in each country and the nature of its handling while 

14 there. 

15 ‘‘(g) LICENSE.—Covered electronic equipment may 

16 only be exported to a country described in subsection (e) 

17 under the exceptions to restricted electronic waste in sub18 section (b)(3)(B) by an entity licensed by the Adminis19 trator under regulations issued under subsection (i)(2). 

20 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL EXPORT CONDITIONS FOR WAR21 RANTIES AND RECALLS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall export cov23 ered electronic equipment to a country described in 

24 subsection (e) under the exceptions to restricted 


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1 electronic waste in subsections (b)(3)(B)(iv) or (v) 

2 unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) the export is made by an original 

4 equipment manufacturer or its contractual 

5 agent to the original design manufacturer or 

6 original component manufacturer’s site of last 

7 assembly, or to a company contracted to make 

8 warranty repairs, for the purposes of business 

9 credit to the original equipment manufacturer, 

10 repair or refurbishment and subsequent reuse, 

11 or replacement; 

12 ‘‘(B) the original equipment manufacturer 

13 has a presence and assets in the United States; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(C) the person who exports the covered 

16 electronic equipment— 

17 ‘‘(i) keeps copies of normal business 

18 records, such as contracts, demonstrating 

19 that each shipment of exported covered 

20 electronic equipment is intended for repair 

21 or refurbishment and subsequent reuse, or 

22 replacement, which documentation shall be 

23 retained for a period of at least 3 years 

24 after the date of export; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) submits an annual report to the 

2 Administrator on the amount and types of 

3 waste resulting from the refurbishment or 

4 replacement process, and how it was dis5 posed of or recycled, which shall include— 

6 ‘‘(I) number and weight of units 

7 of products returned by the original 

8 equipment manufacturer for repair, 

9 refurbishment, or replacement listed 

10 by category and country of destina11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the covered electronic 

13 equipment, or materials derived there14 from, sent onward to further reuse, 

15 disposal, or recycling following repair, 

16 refurbishment, or replacement, listed 

17 by weight, a description of the wastes, 

18 and the ultimate country destination. 

19 ‘‘(2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CONSENT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—No person shall ex21 port covered electronic equipment to a country 

22 described in subsection (e) under the exceptions 

23 to restricted electronic waste in subsections 

24 (b)(3)(B)(iv) or (v) until the Administrator— 


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1 ‘‘(i) obtains the written consent of the 

2 competent authority of the receiving coun3 try, and of each country through which the 

4 covered electronic equipment will pass in 

5 transit; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) transmits to the exporter an Ac7 knowledgment of Consent reflecting receipt 

8 of each country’s consent. 

9 ‘‘(B) COUNTRY NOTIFICATION.—In co10 operation with other appropriate agencies, the 

11 Administrator shall provide notification in writ12 ing of an intended export submitted under sub13 section (f) to the receiving country and any 

14 transit countries. 

15 ‘‘(C) CONSENT AND EXPORTER NOTIFICA16 TION.—When the receiving country and all 

17 transit countries consent in writing to the re18 ceipt or transit of the covered electronic equip19 ment, the Administrator shall transmit an Ac20 knowledgment of Consent to the exporter. The 

21 consent from a receiving or transit country may 

22 be for a notice of multiple shipments or a speci23 fied duration as described in subsection (f). The 

24 exporter shall attach a copy of the Acknowledg25 ment of Consent to the shipping papers or 


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1 equivalent documents to ensure that the Ac2 knowledgment of Consent accompanies the ship3 ment of covered electronic equipment. 

4 ‘‘(3) WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT.—Where the 

5 receiving country or a transit country objects to re6 ceipt or transit of the covered electronic equipment, 

7 or withdraws a prior consent, the Administrator 

8 shall notify the exporter in writing. 

9 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after 

10 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

11 shall issue regulations for carrying out this section, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(1) testing requirements for covered electronic 

14 equipment proposed to be exported under subsection 

15 (b)(3)(B)(ii); 

16 ‘‘(2) establishing a process for licensing entities 

17 under subsection (g); 

18 ‘‘(3) in consultation with the appropriate Fed19 eral agency or agencies, provisions for an efficient 

20 export control regime which will allow for— 

21 ‘‘(A) requiring a person exporting under 

22 this section to use appropriate labeling or 

23 marking, distinguishing among— 

24 ‘‘(i) covered electronic equipment as 

25 permitted under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) restricted electronic waste de2 scribed in this section; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) tested working covered electronic 

4 equipment as permitted under this section; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(B) enforcement mechanisms, tests, and 

7 procedures in coordination with enforcement 

8 procedures administered by other appropriate 

9 Federal agencies; and 

10 ‘‘(4) establishing a registry of violators, where11 by any person or entity found to be exporting re12 stricted electronic waste in violation of this section 

13 shall be listed on a public registry on a website 

14 maintained by the Administrator for a period of 5 

15 years after each violation. 

16 ‘‘(j) CIRCUIT BOARDS.—For the purposes of export 

17 to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Develop18 ment member countries, circuit boards shall be subject to 

19 the Amber Control Procedure as described in the Organi20 zation for Economic Co-operation and Development Con21 trol System for waste recovery.’’. 

22 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENT.—The table 

23 of contents for the Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended 

24 by adding after the item relating to section 3023 the fol25 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec 3024. Electronic waste export restrictions.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 3008(d) of the 

3 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6928(d)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

6 (6); 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

8 (7)(B); and 

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(8) knowingly exports restricted electronic 

12 waste in violation of section 3024;’’. 

13 (b) INSPECTIONS.—Section 3007(a) of the Solid 

14 Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6927(a)) is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘or restricted electronic 

16 wastes’’ after ‘‘or has handled hazardous wastes’’; 

17 and 

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘or restricted electronic 

19 wastes’’ after ‘‘or other place where hazardous 

20 wastes’’. 

21 SEC. 4. RARE EARTH MATERIALS RECYCLING RESEARCH 

22 INITIATIVE. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis25 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ26 mental Protection Agency. 


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1 (2) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

2 the Rare Earth Materials Recycling Research Initia3 tive established under subsection (b). 

4 (3) RARE EARTH MATERIAL.—The term ‘‘rare 

5 earth material’’ means any of the following chemical 

6 elements in any physical form or chemical combina7 tion: 

8 (A) Scandium. 

9 (B) Yttrium. 

10 (C) Lanthanum. 

11 (D) Cerium. 

12 (E) Praseodymium. 

13 (F) Neodymium. 

14 (G) Promethium. 

15 (H) Samarium. 

16 (I) Europium. 

17 (J) Gadolinium. 

18 (K) Terbium. 

19 (L) Dysprosium. 

20 (M) Holmium. 

21 (N) Erbium. 

22 (O) Thulium. 

23 (P) Ytterbium. 

24 (Q) Lutetium. 


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1 (R) Other elements identified by the Sec2 retary as rare or in critical supply. 

3 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Energy. 

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con7 sultation with the Administrator and the heads of other 

8 appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish the Rare 

9 Earth Materials Recycling Research Initiative to assist in 

10 and coordinate the development of research in the recy11 cling of rare earth materials found in electronic devices. 

12 (c) GRANTS.—Under the Initiative, the Secretary 

13 shall establish a competitive research application program 

14 under which the Secretary shall provide grants to appli15 cants to conduct research on one or more of the following 

16 activities: 

17 (1) The safe removal, separation, and recycling 

18 of rare earth material from electronics. 

19 (2) Technology, component, and material design 

20 of electronics more suitable for disassembly and re21 cycling of rare earth material. 

22 (3) Collection, logistics, and reverse supply 

23 chain optimization as related to recycling rare earth 

24 materials from electronics. 


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1 (d) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall 

2 issue requirements for applying for grants under the Ini3 tiative. 

Æ 


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