Few people are aware of recycling options for their old televisions and personal computers. Because of the perceived value of used electronics, some pass their used equipment to family members or friends before eventually storing these units in their attics, basements, or garages. Eventually, though, consumers need to dispose of these units in some manner. By choosing to have these products recycled, consumers ensure the recovery of resources like copper, iron, aluminum, and gold, which would otherwise be procured through less environmentally friendly practices such as mining. Likewise, consumers who choose to recycle also reduce the amount of waste entering the nation’s landfills and incinerators. Since used electronics typically contain toxic substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium, recycling or refurbishing will prevent or delay such toxic substances from entering landfills. The Congress affirmed its commitment to reducing waste and encouraging recycling, first through enactment of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976, and then again with passage of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Both RCRA and the Pollution Prevention Act address alternatives to waste disposal. RCRA promotes the use of resource recovery, either through facilities that convert waste to energy or through recycling. To promote recycling, RCRA required EPA to develop guidelines for identifying products that are or can be produced with recovered materials. RCRA also required federal agencies to procure items that are, to the maximum extent practicable, produced with recovered materials. The Pollution Prevention Act provided that pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled or treated in a safe manner, and disposal or other releases should be used only as a last resort. The act specified that pollution prevention can include such practices as modifying equipment, technology, and processes; redesigning products; and substituting less- toxic raw materials. Executive Order 13101, issued September 14, 1998, also affirmed the federal government’s commitment to encourage recycling by directing federal agencies to consider procuring products that, among other things, use recovered materials, can be reused, facilitate recycling, and include fewer toxic substances. The Federal Environmental Executive, who is appointed by and reports to the President, is responsible for recommending initiatives for government-wide procurement preference programs for environmentally preferable products. EPA’s Office of Solid Waste regulates hazardous waste and nonhazardous waste, including discarded used electronics, under RCRA. RCRA established explicit hazardous waste management requirements overseen by the Office of Solid Waste, but for nonhazardous waste management, also under RCRA, the Office’s policies rely heavily on national voluntary and education programs for waste reduction that emphasize materials recycling and reuse, toxic chemical reduction, and resource conservation. Several of these voluntary programs are tailored specifically for environmentally preferable management of used electronics. The Office of Solid Waste also collaborates with EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics to conserve valuable resources and reduce wastes—particularly toxic wastes—before they are generated. These efforts are administered under the Resource Conservation Challenge, which is an institutional strategy combining the strengths of the two offices to ultimately minimize waste and toxic substances and conserve energy and resources. According to EPA, the overarching goal of the Resource Conservation Challenge is to move the nation from a waste-oriented to a life-cycle management way of thinking about resources. The information we reviewed suggests strongly that the volume of used electronics is large and growing. For example, in a 1999 study, the National Safety Council forecast that almost 100 million computers and monitors (70 million of which would be computers) would become obsolete in 2003—a three-fold increase over the 33 million obsolete computers and monitors in 1997. Additionally, a 2003 International Association of Electronics Recyclers report estimated that 20 million televisions become obsolete each year—a number that is expected to increase as cathode ray tube (CRT) technology is replaced by new technologies such as plasma screens. Thus far, it appears that relatively few used electronics have found their way into either landfills or recycling centers. Available EPA data indicate that less than 4 million monitors and 8 million televisions are disposed of annually in U.S. landfills—only a fraction of the amount estimated to become obsolete annually, according to EPA. Additionally, the 1999 National Safety Council report forecast that only 19 million computers, monitors, and televisions would be recycled in 2005. Hence, the gap between the enormous quantity of used electronics that are obsolete (or becoming obsolete), and the quantity either in landfills or sent to recycling centers, suggests that most are still in storage—such as attics, basements, and garages, and that their ultimate fate is still uncertain—or have been exported for recycling and reuse overseas. Conventional disposal of used electronics in landfills raises two primary concerns, according to research we reviewed: the loss of natural resources and the potential release of toxic substances in the environment. By disposing of these products in landfills or incinerators, valuable resources are lost for future use. For example, computers typically contain precious metals, such as gold, silver, palladium, and platinum, as well as other useful metals like aluminum and copper. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that one metric ton of computer circuit boards contains between 40 and 800 times the concentration of gold contained in gold ore and 30 to 40 times the concentration of copper, while containing much lower levels of harmful elements common to ores, such as arsenic, mercury, and sulfur. The research we reviewed also suggests that the energy saved by recycling and reusing used electronics is significant. The author of one report by the United Nations University states that perhaps as much as 80 percent of the energy used in the life cycle of a computer, which includes manufacturing, can be saved through refurbishment and reuse instead of producing a new unit from raw materials. Regarding the issue of toxicity, the research we reviewed is unclear on the extent to which toxic substances may leach from used electronics in landfills. According to a standard regulatory test RCRA requires to determine whether a solid waste is subject to federal hazardous waste regulations, lead (a substance with known adverse health affects) leaches from some used electronics under laboratory conditions. Some tests conducted at the University of Florida indicate that lead leachate from color computer monitors and televisions with CRTs exceeds the regulatory limit and, as a result could, according to EPA, be considered hazardous waste under RCRA. On the other hand, the author of this study told us that these findings are not necessarily predictive of what could occur in a modern landfill. A report by the Solid Waste Association of North America also suggests that while the amount of lead from used electronics appears to be increasing in municipal solid waste landfills, these landfills provide safe management of used electronics without exceeding toxicity limits that have been established to protect human health and the environment. Nonetheless, regardless of uncertainty surrounding the environmental risks associated with toxic substances commonly found in used electronics, EPA has identified lead, mercury, and cadmium (which are typically found in computers or monitors), as priority toxic chemicals for reduction under the agency’s Resource Conservation Challenge. According to EPA, these toxic substances do not break down when released into the environment and can be dangerous, even in small quantities. The costs associated with recycling and reuse, along with limited regulatory requirements or incentives, discourage environmentally preferable management of used electronics. Generally, consumers have to pay fees and take their used electronics to locations that are often inconvenient to have them recycled or refurbished for reuse. Recyclers and refurbishers charge fees to cover the costs of their operations. In most states, consumers have an easier and cheaper alternative—they can take them to the local landfill. This easy and inexpensive alternative helps, in part, explain why so little recycling of used electronics has thus far taken place in the United States. Moreover, this economic reality, together with federal regulations that do little to preclude disposal of used electronics along with other wastes, have led a growing number of states to enact their own laws to encourage environmentally preferable management of these products. Consumers who seek to recycle or donate their used electronics for reuse generally pay a fee and face inconvenient drop-off locations. Unlike their efforts for other solid waste management and recycling programs, most local governments do not provide curbside collection for recycling of used electronics because it is too expensive. Instead, some localities offer used electronics collection services, for a fee, at local waste transfer stations. These localities send consumers’ used electronics to recyclers for processing. For example, transfer stations in Snohomish County, Washington, charge consumers between $10 and $27 per unit for collecting and transporting used electronics to recyclers and, ultimately, paying the recycler to responsibly handle the products. Moreover, such transfer stations are generally not conveniently located, and rural residents, such as those in parts of Snohomish County, may need to drive more than an hour to get to the nearest drop-off station. Our survey respondents recognize this challenge for the recycling infrastructure—over 70 percent believe that existing collection options for recycling used electronics are inconvenient for households. However, in some localities, consumers can also take their used electronics directly to a recycler, where they are typically charged a fee. In the Portland, Oregon area, for instance, one recycler charges consumers 50 cents per pound to recycle computers, monitors, and televisions, which means it costs consumers about $28 to recycle an average-sized desktop computer system. Recyclers charge these fees to cover the costs they incur when disassembling used electronics, processing the components, and refining the commodities for resale. As noted in a 2003 report by the International Association of Electronics Recyclers, most recyclers and refurbishers in the United States cannot recoup their expenses from the resale of recycled commodities or refurbished units. The report, which compiled data from more than 60 recyclers in North America, stated that the costs associated with recycling are greater than the revenue received from reselling recycled commodities and that fees are needed to cover the difference.