I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6252 

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

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, and 

Mr. CARTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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 12 months after the 

3 date of enactment of this section, except as provided in 

4 subsection (e) or (f), no person shall export any restricted 

5 electronic waste to a country described in subsection (c). 

6 ‘‘(b) COVERED WASTE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec8 tion: 

9 ‘‘(A) The term ‘covered electronic equip10 ment’ means used computers, central processing 

11 units, mobile computers (including notebooks, 

12 netbooks, tablets, and e-book readers), com13 puter accessories including input devices, 

14 webcams, speakers, data storage devices, serv15 ers, and monitors, televisions, digital picture 

16 frames, and other video display devices, digital 

17 imaging devices (including printers, copiers, 

18 facsimile machines, image scanners, and multi19 function machines), television peripheral devices 

20 including video cassette recorders, DVD play21 ers, video game systems, game controllers, sig22 nal converter boxes, and cable and satellite re23 ceivers, digital cameras and projectors, digital 

24 audio players, telephones and electronic commu25 nication equipment, networking devices includ26 ing routers, network cards, modems, and hubs, 


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1 audio equipment, other wireless communication 

2 devices including cell phones, mobile television 

3 and entertainment devices, personal digital as4 sistants, and portable GPS navigation systems, 

5 and other used electronic products the Adminis6 trator determines to be similar in accordance 

7 with paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(B)(i) The term ‘restricted electronic 

9 waste’ means— 

10 ‘‘(I) items of covered electronic 

11 equipment, whole or in fragments, 

12 that include, contain, are derived 

13 from, or consist of— 

14 ‘‘(aa) cathode ray tubes or 

15 cathode ray tube glass in any 

16 form, or cathode ray tube phos17 phor residues or dusts in any 

18 form; 

19 ‘‘(bb) a lamp or other device 

20 containing mercury phosphor; 

21 ‘‘(cc) batteries containing 

22 lead, cadmium, mercury, or flam23 mable organic solvents; 


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1 ‘‘(dd) switches or any other 

2 devices containing mercury in 

3 elemental or compound form; 

4 ‘‘(ee) capacitors, trans5 formers, light ballasts, or any 

6 other devices containing or sus7 pected of containing poly8 chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); or 

9 ‘‘(ff) parts, components, or 

10 assemblies, or materials derived 

11 therefrom, containing hexavalent 

12 chromium or beryllium (in ele13 mental or compound form); 

14 ‘‘(II) except as provided in para15 graph (3), items of covered electronic 

16 equipment, whole or in fragments, 

17 that include, contain, are derived 

18 from, or consist of— 

19 ‘‘(aa) circuit boards con20 taining lead, cadmium, or beryl21 lium in elemental or compound 

22 form; 

23 ‘‘(bb) printer drums or any 

24 other devices containing selenium 

25 in elemental or compound form; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) liquid crystal displays, 

2 flatscreen glass, light emitting di3 odes (LEDs), or any other device 

4 containing arsenic in elemental or 

5 compound form; or 

6 ‘‘(dd) parts, components, or 

7 assemblies, or materials derived 

8 therefrom, containing antimony, 

9 barium, cadmium, chromium 

10 (other than hexavalent chro11 mium), lead, thallium, beryllium, 

12 arsenic, or selenium; or 

13 ‘‘(III) any other covered elec14 tronic equipment parts, components, 

15 or assemblies, or materials derived 

16 therefrom, containing any other toxic 

17 material identified by the Adminis18 trator under paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘restricted electronic waste’ 

20 shall not apply to covered electronic equipment 

21 or parts which are tested prior to export, and 

22 are found to be— 

23 ‘‘(I) functional for the purpose for 

24 which the equipment or parts were de25 signed, as provided for in subsection 


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1 (h)(1), or, in the case of multifunction de2 vices, fully functional for at least one of 

3 the primary purposes for which the equip4 ment or parts were designed; 

5 ‘‘(II) appropriately packaged for ship6 ment as provided for in subsection (h)(1); 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(III) appropriately labeled or marked 

9 as provided for in subsection (h)(3). 

10 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL COVERED ELECTRONIC

11 EQUIPMENT AND RESTRICTED MATERIALS.—Not 

12 later than one year after the date of enactment of 

13 this section, the Administrator shall, after notice 

14 and opportunity for public comment, and after con15 sultation with appropriate Federal and State agen16 cies, develop and promulgate procedures for identi17 fying— 

18 ‘‘(A) similar electronic equipment to add to 

19 the list of covered electronic equipment under 

20 paragraph (1)(A); and 

21 ‘‘(B) additional restricted toxic materials, 

22 the presence of which in covered electronic 

23 equipment poses a potential hazard to human 

24 health or the environment at the end of the life 

25 of the equipment. 


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1 Such procedures shall include a method for any in2 terested party to propose a new product or material 

3 for review by the Administrator. 

4 ‘‘(3) DE MINIMIS LEVELS.—Not later than one 

5 year after the date of enactment of this section, the 

6 Administrator shall, after notice and opportunity for 

7 public comment, and after consultation with appro8 priate Federal and State agencies, develop and pro9 mulgate procedures for identifying de minimis levels 

10 for restricted electronic waste specified under para11 graph (1)(B)(i)(II) or (III) below which such waste 

12 shall be deemed to not pose a potential hazard to 

13 human health or the environment. Notwithstanding 

14 subsection (a) and the definition of restricted elec15 tronic waste under paragraph (1)(B), a person may 

16 export restricted electronic waste described in para17 graph (1)(B)(i)(II) or (III) to a country described in 

18 subsection (c) upon demonstration that the waste 

19 does not contain more than the de minimis levels, 

20 established by the Administrator under this para21 graph, of antimony, barium, cadmium, chromium 

22 (other than hexavalent chromium), lead, thallium, 

23 beryllium, arsenic, or selenium. 


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1 ‘‘(c) COUNTRIES TO WHICH PROHIBITION AP2 PLIES.—The countries referred to in subsection (a) are all 

3 countries which are not— 

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

5 Cooperation and Development or the European 

6 Union; or 

7 ‘‘(2) Liechtenstein. 

8 ‘‘(d) OECD.—For the purposes of export to Organi9 zation for Economic Cooperation and Development coun10 tries, circuit boards shall be subject to the amber list re11 quirements defined in section 262.89 of the OECD Waste 

12 Lists. 

13 ‘‘(e) GENERAL EXCEPTIONS.—Subject to subsection 

14 (g), the prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply 

15 to— 

16 ‘‘(1) furnace-ready cathode ray tube glass 

17 cullet, cleaned of all phosphors, to be used as a di18 rect feedstock in a lead-glass manufacturing furnace 

19 without further processing or preparation required 

20 other than quality control, which the competent au21 thority in the importing country has stated in writ22 ing is not waste; 

23 ‘‘(2) customer returns to point of sale or to 

24 contractual warranty collectors of recently purchased 

25 electronic equipment or parts that is either— 


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1 ‘‘(A) under original equipment manufac2 turer warranty to customers; or 

3 ‘‘(B) under warranty from the original de4 sign manufacturer to the original equipment 

5 manufacturer, or otherwise returned by the 

6 original purchaser of the electronic equipment, 

7 due to defect or customer dissatisfaction, and 

8 the manufacturer accepts such returns for the 

9 purposes of repair or replacement in order to 

10 return to the customer a functional working 

11 product or part of the same type and model, ex12 cept that products covered in this subparagraph 

13 shall not include— 

14 ‘‘(i) products or parts accepted for re15 turn from individuals or businesses under 

16 general takeback, recycling, trade-in (for 

17 purposes of recycling, disposal, sales pro18 motions, or obtaining credit for product 

19 purchases or leases) or buy-back programs, 

20 events, or policies designed to collect used 

21 or waste electronic equipment; 

22 ‘‘(ii) products or parts returned at the 

23 end of leases to customers; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) products or parts collected by 

25 asset recovery programs; or 


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1 ‘‘(3) recalls of parts or products by an original 

2 equipment manufacturer or original design manufac3 turer whereby— 

4 ‘‘(A) the product or part is subject to re5 call notice issued by the Consumer Product 

6 Safety Commission or other pertinent Federal 

7 authority; 

8 ‘‘(B) the original design manufacturer re9 quires the defective part or product to be phys10 ically returned to that manufacturer as a term 

11 of the warranty; and 

12 ‘‘(C) any export of recalled products or 

13 parts is to a country from whose competent au14 thority the Administrator has received written 

15 consent under subsection (g). 

16 ‘‘(f) EXPORT CONDITIONS.—Equipment may be ex17 ported under subsection (e)(2) or (3) only if— 

18 ‘‘(1) the Administrator has received written 

19 consent under subsection (g) from the competent au20 thority in the country receiving the export and any 

21 country the export passes through in transit; 

22 ‘‘(2) the export is made by an original equip23 ment manufacturer or its contractual agent to the 

24 original design manufacturer’s site of last assembly, 

25 or to a company contracted to make warranty reVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 Oct 08, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6252.IH H6252

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1 pairs, for the purposes of business credit to the 

2 original equipment manufacturer, repair or refur3 bishment and subsequent reuse; 

4 ‘‘(3) the original equipment manufacturer has a 

5 presence and assets in the United States; and 

6 ‘‘(4) the person who exports the equipment or 

7 parts— 

8 ‘‘(A) keeps copies of normal business 

9 records, such as contracts, demonstrating that 

10 each shipment of exported used electronic 

11 equipment or parts is intended for repair or re12 furbishment and subsequent reuse, which docu13 mentation shall be retained for a period of at 

14 least 6 years after the date the used electronic 

15 equipment or parts were exported; and 

16 ‘‘(B) submits an annual report to the Ad17 ministrator on the amount and types of waste 

18 resulting from the refurbishment process, and 

19 how it was disposed of or recycled, which shall 

20 include— 

21 ‘‘(i) number and weight of units of 

22 products returned by the original equip23 ment manufacturer for repair or refurbish24 ment, listed by category and country of 

25 destination; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the restricted electronic waste 

2 parts or residues sent onward to further 

3 reuse, disposal, or recycling following re4 pair or refurbishment, listed by weight, a 

5 description of the wastes, and the ultimate 

6 country destination. 

7 ‘‘(g) EXPORT PROCEDURES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) NOTICE TO ADMINISTRATOR.—Not later 

9 than 60 days before the initial export shipment, an 

10 exporter shall transmit to the Administrator written 

11 notice of an intended export permitted under this 

12 section. Such a notification may cover export activi13 ties extending over a maximum of 12 months for the 

14 same type of restricted electronic waste, exported to 

15 the same facility via the same transit countries. The 

16 notification shall include the following information: 

17 ‘‘(A) The name, mailing address, telephone 

18 number, and EPA ID number. 

19 ‘‘(B) Documentation of licensing of the ex20 porter by the Environmental Protection Agency 

21 pursuant to subsection (h)(2). 

22 ‘‘(C) The name and site address of the 

23 consignee and any alternate consignee. 

24 ‘‘(D) A statement from the consignee that 

25 includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a description of the type and total 

2 quantity of restricted electronic waste that 

3 will be exported to the consignee; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the estimated frequency or rate 

5 at which such restricted electronic waste is 

6 to be exported, and the period of time over 

7 which such waste is to be exported; 

8 ‘‘(iii) all points of entry to and depar9 ture from each country through which the 

10 restricted electronic waste will pass in 

11 transit; 

12 ‘‘(iv) a description of the means by 

13 which each shipment of the restricted elec14 tronic waste will be transported, including 

15 the mode of transportation and type or 

16 types of container; and 

17 ‘‘(v) a description of the manner in 

18 which the restricted electronic waste will be 

19 treated, stored, or disposed of in the re20 ceiving country. 

21 ‘‘(E) A list of all transit countries through 

22 which the restricted electronic waste will be 

23 transported, and a description of the approxi24 mate length of time the waste will remain in 


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1 each country and the nature of its handling 

2 while there. 

3 ‘‘(2) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CONSENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—No restricted elec5 tronic waste may be exported pursuant to this 

6 section unless the written consent of the com7 petent authority of the receiving country, and of 

8 each country through which the restricted elec9 tronic waste will pass in transit, has been ob10 tained and the Administrator has transmitted 

11 to the exporter an Acknowledgment of Consent 

12 reflecting receipt of each such country’s con13 sent. 

14 ‘‘(B) COUNTRY NOTIFICATION.—In con15 junction with other relevant agencies, the Ad16 ministrator shall provide a complete notification 

17 to the receiving country and any transit coun18 tries. A notification is complete when the Ad19 ministrator receives a notification which the Ad20 ministrator determines satisfies the require21 ments of this section. 

22 ‘‘(C) EXPORTER NOTIFICATION.—When 

23 the receiving country and all transit countries 

24 have consented to the receipt or transit of the 

25 restricted electronic waste, the Administrator 


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1 shall transmit an Acknowledgment of Consent 

2 to the exporter. The exporter shall attach a 

3 copy of the Acknowledgment of Consent to the 

4 manifest, or otherwise ensure that the Acknowl5 edgment of Consent accompanies the restricted 

6 electronic waste shipment. 

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

8 receiving country or a transit country objects to re9 ceipt or transit of restricted electronic waste, or 

10 withdraws a prior consent, the Administrator shall 

11 notify the exporter in writing. 

12 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION OF CONSIGNEE.—For pur13 poses of this subsection, the term ‘consignee’ means 

14 the ultimate treatment, storage, or disposal facility 

15 in a receiving country to which restricted electronic 

16 waste will be sent. 

17 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 12 months after 

18 the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 

19 shall issue regulations for carrying out this section, includ20 ing— 

21 ‘‘(1) testing requirements for verifying that 

22 used covered electronic equipment or parts proposed 

23 to be exported under this section are functional for 

24 the purposes for which they were designed, including 

25 requirements for proper packaging to prevent such 


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1 equipment or parts from losing functionality due to 

2 damage during transit; 

3 ‘‘(2) establishing a process whereby any entity 

4 exporting restricted electronic waste from the United 

5 States must be licensed by the Environmental Pro6 tection Agency; 

7 ‘‘(3) in consultation with the appropriate Fed8 eral agency or agencies, provisions for an efficient 

9 export control regime which will allow for— 

10 ‘‘(A) distinguishing among exports of— 

11 ‘‘(i) restricted electronic waste as per12 mitted under this section; 

13 ‘‘(ii) restricted electronic waste as 

14 prohibited under this section; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) tested working used covered 

16 electronic equipment as permitted under 

17 this section; and 

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

19 procedures in coordination with other enforce20 ment procedures; and 

21 ‘‘(4) establishing a registry of violators, where22 by any person or entity found to be exporting re23 stricted electronic waste in violation of this section 

24 shall be listed on a public registry on a Web site 


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1 maintained by the Administrator for a period of 5 

2 years.’’. 

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

4 of contents for the Solid Waste Disposal Act is amended 

5 by adding after the item relating to section 3023 the fol6 lowing new item: 

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

7 SEC. 3. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

8 Section 3008(d) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 6928(d)) is amended— 

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

11 (6); 

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

13 (7); and 

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol15 lowing new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(8) knowingly exports restricted electronic 

17 waste in violation of section 3024;’’. 

Æ 


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