The management of used electronics presents a number of environmental and health concerns. EPA estimates that only 15 to 20 percent of used electronics (by weight) are collected for reuse and recycling, and that the remainder of collected materials is primarily sent to U.S. landfills. While a survey conducted by the consumer electronics industry suggests that EPA’s data may underestimate the recycling rate, the industry survey confirms that the number of used electronics thrown away each year is in the tens of millions. As a result, valuable resources contained in electronics, including copper, gold, and aluminum, are lost for future use. Additionally, while modern landfills are designed to prevent leaking of toxic substances and contamination of groundwater, research shows that some types of electronics have the potential to leach toxic substances with known adverse health effects. Used electronics may also be exported for recycling or disposal. In August 2008, we reported that, while such exports can be handled responsibly in countries with effective regulatory regimes and by companies with advanced technologies, a substantial amount ends up in countries that lack the capacity to safely recycle and dispose of used electronics. We also have previously reported on the economic and other factors that inhibit recycling and reuse. For example, many recyclers charge fees because their costs exceed the revenue they receive from selling recycled commodities or refurbishing units. Household electronics, in particular, are typically older and more difficult to refurbish and resell, and, thus, may have less value than those from large institutions. In most states, it is easier and cheaper for consumers to dispose of household electronics at a local landfill. Moreover, as EPA and others have noted, the domestic infrastructure to recycle used electronics is limited, and the major markets for both recycled commodities and reusable equipment are overseas. The United States does not have a comprehensive national approach for the reuse and recycling of used electronics, and previous efforts to establish a national approach have been unsuccessful. Under the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative, a key previous effort that was initially funded by EPA, stakeholders met between 2001 and 2004, in part to develop a financing system to facilitate reuse and recycling. Stakeholders included representatives of federal, state, and local governments; electronics manufacturers, retailers, and recyclers; and environmental organizations. Yet despite broad agreement in principle, stakeholders in the process did not reach agreement on a uniform, nationwide financing system. For example, they did not reach agreement on a uniform system that would address the unique issues related to televisions, which have longer life spans and cost more to recycle than computers. In the absence of a national approach, some states have since addressed the management of used electronics through legislation or other means, and other stakeholders are engaged in a variety of voluntary efforts. In the 9 years that have passed since stakeholders initiated the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to develop a national financing system to facilitate the reuse and recycling of used electronics, 23 states have enacted some form of electronics recycling legislation. For example, some of these state laws established an electronics collection and recycling program and a mechanism for funding the cost of recycling (see fig. 1). The state laws represent a range of options for financing the cost of recycling and also differ in other respects, such as the scope of electronic devices covered under the recycling programs, with televisions, laptop computers, and computer monitors frequently among the covered electronic devices. Similarly, while the state laws generally cover used electronics generated by households, some laws also cover used electronics generated by small businesses, charities, and other entities. Five of the states—California, Maine, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington— represent some of the key differences in financing mechanisms. California was early to enact legislation and is the only state to require that electronics retailers collect a recycling fee from consumers at the time of purchase of a new electronic product covered under the law. These fees are deposited into a fund managed by the state and used to pay for the collection and recycling of used electronics. In contrast, the other four states have enacted legislation making manufacturers selling products in their jurisdictions responsible for recycling or for some or all of the recycling costs. Such laws are based on the concept of “producer responsibility” but implement the concept in different ways. In Maine, state-approved consolidators of covered used electronics bill individual manufacturers, with the amount billed for particular electronics being based in part either on the manufacturer’s market share of products sold or on the share of used electronics collected under the state’s program. Under the Minnesota law, manufacturers either must meet recycling targets by arranging and paying for the collection and recycling of an amount in weight based on a percentage of their sales or must pay recycling fees. Texas requires that manufacturers establish convenient “take-back” programs for their own brands of equipment. Finally, the Washington law requires that manufacturers establish and fund collection services that meet certain criteria for convenience, as well as transportation and recycling services. Table 1 summarizes the key characteristics of the electronics recycling legislation in these five states. As of June 2010, the remaining 27 states had not enacted legislation to establish electronics recycling programs. In some of these states, legislation concerning electronics recycling has been proposed, and some state legislatures have established commissions to study options for the management of used electronics. In addition, some of these states, as well as some of the states with recycling legislation, have banned certain used electronics, such as CRTs, from landfills. In states with no mechanism to finance the cost of recycling, some local governments that offer recycling bear the recycling costs and others charge fees to consumers. Also, some states have funded voluntary recycling efforts, such as collection events or related efforts organized by local governments. For example, Florida has provided grants to counties in the state to foster the development of an electronics recycling infrastructure. A variety of entities offer used electronics collection services, either for a fee or at no charge. Localities may organize collection events or collect used electronics at waste transfer stations. A number of electronics manufacturers and retailers support collection events and offer other services. For example, Best Buy offers free recycling of its own branded products and drop-off opportunities for other products at a charge that is offset by a store coupon of the same value; Dell and Goodwill Industries have established a partnership to provide free collection services at many Goodwill donation centers; and a number of electronics manufacturers collect used electronics through mail-back services offered to consumers. Some manufacturers and retailers also have made voluntary commitments to manage used electronics in an environmentally sound manner and to restrict exports of used electronics that they collect for recycling. EPA has taken some notable steps to augment its enforcement of regulations on exports of CRTs for recycling, but the export of other used electronics remains largely unregulated. In addition, the effect of EPA’s partnership programs on the management of used electronics, although positive, is limited or uncertain. To encourage the recycling and reuse of used CRTs, EPA amended its hazardous waste regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act by establishing streamlined management requirements. If certain conditions are met, the regulations exclude CRTs from the definition of solid waste and thereby from the regulations that apply to the management of hazardous waste. The conditions include a requirement that exporters of used CRTs for recycling notify EPA of an intended export before the shipments are scheduled to leave the United States and obtain consent from the importing country. In contrast, exporters of used, intact CRTs for reuse (as opposed to recycling) may submit a one-time notification to EPA and are not required to obtain consent from the importing country. The export provisions of the CRT rule became effective in January 2007. We reported in August 2008 that some companies had appeared to have easily circumvented the CRT rule, and that EPA had done little to enforce it. In particular, we posed as foreign buyers of broken CRTs, and 43 U.S. companies expressed a willingness to export these items. Some of the companies, including ones that publicly touted their exemplary environmental practices, were willing to export CRTs in apparent violation of the CRT rule. Despite the apparently widespread potential for violations, EPA did not issue its first administrative penalty complaint against a company for potentially illegal shipments until the rule had been in effect for 1½ years, and that penalty came as a result of a problem we had identified. In response to our prior report, EPA officials acknowledged some instances of noncompliance with the CRT rule but stated that, given the rule’s relative newness, their focus was on educating the regulated community. Since our prior report’s issuance, however, EPA has initiated investigations and taken several enforcement actions against companies that have violated the notice-and-consent requirement for export of CRTs for recycling. For example, in December 2009, the agency issued an order seeking penalties of up to $37,500 per day to a company that failed to properly manage a shipment of waste CRTs. According to EPA, the company did not provide appropriate notice to the agency or to China, the receiving country, where customs authorities rejected the shipment. Similarly, in December 2009, EPA announced that two companies that failed to notify the agency or receive written consent from China of a shipment of waste CRTs for recycling entered agreements with EPA, with one company agreeing to pay a fine of over $21,000. Despite steps to strengthen enforcement of the CRT rule, issues related to CRT exports and to exports of other used electronics remain. First, as we reported in August 2008, exports of CRTs for reuse in developing countries have sometimes included broken units that are instead dumped. EPA’s CRT rule does not allow such exports and requires that exporters keep copies of normal business records, such as contracts, demonstrating that each shipment of exported CRTs will be reused. However, the rule does not require exporters to test used equipment to verify that it is functional. Moreover, according to EPA, the agency has focused its investigations under the CRT rule on companies that have failed to provide export notifications altogether.