I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1580 
To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to 
award grants for electronic waste reduction research, development, and 
demonstration projects, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 18, 2009 
Mr. GORDON of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 
BAIRD, Mr. CARNAHAN, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 
WU, and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Science and Technology 
A BILL 
To authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency to award grants for electronic waste reduc-
tion research, development, and demonstration projects, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Waste Re-
search and Development Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The volume of obsolete, broken, stored, or 
discarded electronic devices, known as electronic 
waste, is substantial and will continue to grow. The 
Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 
over 2 billion computers, televisions, cell phones, 
printers, gaming systems, and other devices have 
been sold since 1980, generating 2 million tons of 
unwanted electronic devices in 2005 alone. 
(2) Electronic waste can be refurbished or recy-
cled to recover and conserve valuable materials, such 
as gold, copper, and platinum. However, according 
to the Environmental Protection Agency, only 15 to 
20 percent of household generated electronic waste 
reaches recyclers. 
(3) The electronic waste recycling industry in 
the United States is growing; however, challenges re-
main for the recycling of electronic waste generated 
by households and other small generators. Collection 
of the electronic waste is expensive, and separation 
and proper disposal of some of the materials recov-
ered, like lead from cathode-ray tube televisions, is 
costly. 
(4) The export of electronic waste to developing 
countries also presents a serious challenge. The 
crude methods of many of the recycling operations 
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in these countries can expose workers to harmful 
chemicals, jeopardizing their health and polluting 
the environment. 
(5) Some of the challenges to increasing the 
volume of electronic waste that is recycled can be 
addressed by improving the logistics and technology 
of the collection and recycling process, designing 
electronic devices to avoid the use of hazardous ma-
terials and to be more easily recycled, and encour-
aging the use of recycled materials in more applica-
tions. 
(6) The public currently does not take full ad-
vantage of existing electronic waste recycling oppor-
tunities. Studying factors that influence behavior 
and educating consumers about electronic waste 
could help communities and private industry develop 
recycling programs that draw more participation. 
(7) The development of tools and technologies 
to increase the lifespan of electronic devices and to 
promote their safe re-use would decrease the impact 
of the production and disposal of electronic devices 
on the environment. 
(8) Accurately assessing the environmental im-
pacts of the production of electronic devices and the 
recycling of electronic waste is a complex task. Data, 
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