Research and Markets Releases New Electronics Recycling Report

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

DUBLIN, Ireland — Research and Markets has announced the addition of Electronics Recycling: What to Expect from Global Mandates - 2005 Edition to their current offering.

About 16 countries now have takeback laws for electronics—each slightly different. Within five years, 30 countries are expected have such laws, according to Research and Markets. The European Parliament has passed two electronics recycling directives that will change the way manufacturers design their products.In the U.S., electronics makers are trying to hammer out a national takeback plan, and this will include federal legislation if it goes through. In 2004, there were about 36 electronics bills in 22 state hoppers, and 65 mercury-related restriction bills, 10 of which affect electronics.

The updated 200-page report summarizes regulatory developments in electronics takeback around the world. Coverage includes 23 countries in Europe and Asia, and includes new details from South Korea and China. The new European directives (WEEE and RoHS) are explained in plain English, with details on who is affected, and which items have toxic materials restrictions. Also included is collection organization information, fee structures, and electronics recovery rates when available. On the U.S. side, the report includes background and analysis of the current regulatory climate for electronics stewardship, and summaries of state electronics takeback and related restrictive bills, as well as the results of major pilot collection programs at the local level.

The report features the results of Research's 50-state survey on the status of regulations that reduce barriers to electronics recycling in U.S. states, and the 2004 survey that provides opinions of the state recycling managers on the issues. The U.S. survey indicated that fewer state officials are aware of the national takeback negotiations that have been ongoing since 2001; in 2003, only one official was not familiar with the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) process—in 2004, six said they were not familiar with it. Moreover, the survey indicated that 11 states planned legislative action on electronics waste in the next the next three years—ten said no. Only 11 of 35 state recycling managers believe that there will ever be a national agreement on electronics takeback, according to the new report.

The detailed report reviews all state legislation in 2004 (about 36 bills); status of enacted bills; and deregulation of electronics recycling in the States and Canada. Other sections cover design for environment issues, plastics recycling, labelling and coverage of the implementation of RoHS. The international section covers 18 European countries and five Asian countries, including electronics fees for 2004-5, explanations of current laws vs. implementation of the WEEE/RoHS directives, and updated details for dealing with regions such as South Korea and Taiwan.