As we have reported previously, EPA estimates that across the federal government 10,000 computers are disposed of each week. Once these used electronics reach the end of their original useful lives, federal agencies have several options for disposing of them. Agencies generally are to donate their used electronics to schools or other nonprofit educational institutions; exchange them with other federal, state, or local agencies; sometimes trade them with vendors to offset the costs of new equipment; sell them—generally through the GSA’s surplus property program, which sells surplus federal government equipment, including used federal electronics, at public auctions; or give them to a recycler. Federal agencies, however, are not required to track the ultimate destination of their donated or recycled used electronic products. Instead, agency officials generally consider this to be the recipient organization’s responsibility. Consequently, federal agencies often have little assurance that their used electronics are ultimately disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. In our prior work, we found that little information exists, for example, on whether obsolete electronic products are reused, stored, or disposed of in landfills. If discarded domestically with common trash, a number of adverse environmental impacts may result, including the potential for harmful substances such as cadmium, lead, and mercury to enter the environment. If donated or recycled, these products may eventually be irresponsibly exported to countries without modern landfills and with waste management systems that are less protective of human health and the environment than those in the United States. For example, in our prior work we found that some U.S. electronics recyclers—including ones that publicly tout their exemplary environmental practices—were apparently willing to circumvent U.S. hazardous waste export laws and export certain regulated used electronic products to developing countries. The federal government’s approach to ensuring environmentally responsible management of used electronics has relied heavily on EPA’s FEC initiative, which, among other things, encourages federal facilities and agencies to manage used electronics in an environmentally safe way. In addition, executive orders were issued to strengthen federal agencies’ overall environmental management practices, including environmentally sound management of federal electronic products. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) each play important roles in providing leadership, oversight, and guidance to assist federal agencies with implementing the requirements of these executive orders. More recently, an interagency task force issued the July 2011 National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship, which is intended to lay the groundwork for enhancing the federal government’s management of used electronics. Over the past decade, the executive branch has undertaken several initiatives to improve federal agencies’ management of used electronics. Specifically, (1) EPA has led or coordinated several improvement initiatives and issued guidance aimed at improving the management of used federal electronic products, (2) GSA has issued personal property disposal guidance and instituted new requirements for electronics recyclers it has contracted with to dispose of federal electronic products, (3) the President has issued executive orders that established goals for improving the management of used federal electronics, and (4) an interagency task force issued the July 2011 National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship, which is intended to lay the groundwork for enhancing the federal government’s management of used electronics. EPA has led or coordinated several key improvement initiatives to assist agencies with the management of used federal electronics, including the FEC, the Federal Electronics Stewardship Working Group, and the establishment of electronics recycler standards for use in certification programs. Federal Electronics Challenge. In 2003, EPA, along with several other agencies, piloted the FEC.that encourages federal facilities and agencies to purchase environmentally friendly electronic products, reduce the impacts of these products during their use, and manage used electronics in an environmentally safe way. To participate, executive branch agencies or The FEC is a voluntary partnership program their facilities must register and sign an agency pledge to become an agency or facility FEC partner, or both. In general, agency partners are responsible for supporting their facilities’ efforts but do not have specific reporting requirements. Facility partners are required to submit a baseline survey of their electronics stewardship activities when they join the program. The survey is to include, among other things, a description of (1) what the entity does with electronic products that are no longer used; (2) which electronics recycling services it uses; and (3) what, if any, measures the entity has taken to ensure that the electronic products were recycled in an environmentally sound manner. Facility partners are also expected to report progress annually, and apply for recognition through FEC awards. FEC guidance directs participants to provide recipients of donated electronics with instructions on how to have the electronics recycled responsibly and how to verify that responsible recycling occurs— procedures known as “downstream auditing.” When donating used electronics, FEC instructs agencies and facilities to ensure that recipients contact local or state environmental or solid waste agencies to obtain a database of vendors who recycle used electronics once the equipment is no longer useful to the recipient organization. FEC also recommends that participating agencies and facilities instruct recipients to avoid arrangements with recyclers that are unable or unwilling to share references and cannot explain the final destination of the used electronics they collect. When recycling electronics, participants are to determine how much electronic equipment the recyclers actually recycle compared with the amount they sell to other parties. In addition, FEC instructs participants to physically inspect a potential recycler’s facilities. Used electronics in trash containers, for example, may indicate that the facility is not recycling it, and the presence of shipping containers may indicate that the facility exports it. To assist FEC partners, “FEC champions” are available to help regional federal facilities with their electronics management programs. FEC champions are EPA representatives who are selected based on geographic representation. Champions help federal facilities become FEC facility partners; access resources for managing electronic products, including FEC program information, fact sheets, and limited technical assistance; and receive recognition for improving electronics management programs. The Federal Electronics Stewardship Working Group. This working group coordinates interagency efforts to promote federal electronics stewardship. It also acts as an advisory board for the FEC program. During the working group’s monthly meetings, federal agencies have the opportunity to discuss best practices for implementing the FEC and other electronics stewardship initiatives within their respective agencies. The FEC Program Manager told us the working group meetings serve as a primary mechanism to facilitate communication with agency management regarding the FEC program. Most executive agencies have at least one representative serving with the working group. Standards for certification of recyclers. EPA has worked with the recycling industry and other entities to promote partnership programs that address the environmentally sound management of used electronic products. As we reported in July 2010, EPA convened electronics manufacturers, recyclers, and other stakeholders and provided funding to develop Responsible Recycling (R2) practices, so that electronics recyclers could obtain certification to show that they are voluntarily adhering to the adopted set of best practices for environmental protection, worker health and safety, and security practices. Certification for R2 practices became available in late 2009. The R2 practices identify “focus materials” in used electronic products, such as cathode-ray tubes or items containing mercury, that warrant greater care owing to their toxicity and associated risk if managed without the appropriate safeguards. Specifically, the practices require that recyclers and each vendor in the recycling chain (1) export products and components containing certain materials only to countries that can legally accept them, (2) document the legality of such exports, and (3) ensure that the material is being safely handled throughout the recycling chain. R2 practices also establish a “reuse, recover, dispose” hierarchy along the chain of custody for material handling. These practices require recyclers to test electronics diverted for reuse, and confirm that key functions of the unit are working before it may be exported. Without such testing and confirmation, these used electronics must be treated as though they are going to recycling and may not be exported unless the R2 exporting provisions for recycling are satisfied. Recognizing that some clients would not want their used electronics remarketed or reused, R2 practices also require recyclers to have systems in place to ensure that all such electronics processed can be recycled, rather than recovered for reuse. EPA encourages electronics recyclers to obtain certification to either R2 practices, or to e-Stewards, a separate voluntary certification program. e- Stewards was initiated by the Basel Action Network in 2008, and the first e-Stewards-certified facilities were announced in early 2010. The length and cost of the e-Stewards certification process depends on a facility’s size and whether it has a documented environmental management system in place. The authority for federal agencies to transfer research equipment, including computers, to educational institutions and nonprofit organizations was established in law in 1992. See 15 U.S.C. § 3710(i) (2011). The Computers for Learning program facilitates the transfer of excess federal computer equipment to schools and educational nonprofit organizations. The program implements Executive Order 12999, Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for All Children in the Next Century, 61 Fed. Reg. 17,227 (Apr. 19, 1996). of the property for sale would be greater than the expected sales proceeds. More recently, GSA has instituted new requirements for electronics recyclers listed on the GSA Schedule. In February 2011, GSA began requiring proof of certification under either R2 or e-Stewards for new vendors seeking to provide recycling or disposal services for used electronic products under GSA’s environmental services schedule. According to GSA officials, they also identified 5 vendors, out of the 58 vendors on the schedule at that time, that were performing recycling or disposal services for used electronic products and provided these vendors with modified contract terms—making R2 or e-Stewards certification within 6 months a condition for performing these services under the GSA schedule.