E.P.A. Declares Electronics Recycling Drop-Off Event for Mid-Atlantic Government Employees

(03/20/03)Following up October's announcement of the results of the "eCycling" pilot project, the nation's 1st collaboration between multi-state government agencies and the electronics industry to offer citizens and small business opportunities to reuse and recycle old computer equipment, televisions and other electronic products, E.P.A. is sponsoring an electronics drop-off collection event this Sat., March 22, in Lindenwold, N.J., (near Camden) from ten a.m. - three p.m. All citizens in the Philadelphia area are invited to bring in their privately-owned computers and other consumer electronics for recycling and reuse. The eCycling plan helps prevent toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium from possibly endangering public health and the environment, and it saves precious landfill space. Launched in October 2001 out of EPA's Mid-Atlantic regional office in Philadelphia, eCycling officials evaluate different methods of collecting end-of-life electronics, compile data about the costs of collecting, transporting and processing electronics and help define the roles and responsibilities of government, consumers, electronics manufacturers, retailers and recyclers in recycling. Using funds so far totaling at least half a million dollars from EPA, the Mid-Atlantic states, manufacturers and members of the Electronic Industries Alliance, eCycling held 45 drop-off events in 31 counties during the pilot project, collecting over 2700 tons of used electronics from Mid-Atlantic residents, and preventing over 22,000 cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in televisions from entering the region's landfills and incinerators. (CRTs are a source of the hazardous substance lead.) These collection events will continue to raise awareness of the need to recycle and reuse unwanted electronics, and will further enable government agencies to lead by example. All recyclers in the eCycling plan using federal government money must certify that equipment is recycled safely and will not be dismantled or managed overseas. As part of these drop-off events, government and industry share the cost to collect, transport, and process the equipment, and electronics manufacturers Panasonic, Sharp and Sony pay to recycle their respective brands of electronics. The Electronic Industries Alliance, headquartered in Arlington, Va., is a partnership of electronic and high-tech associations and companies whose mission is promoting the market development and competitiveness of the U.S. high-tech industry through domestic and international policy efforts. For more information about these special electronics collection events, see: http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/eCycling.htm

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