Electronics Recycling

The Washington state Senate has passed a bill that aims to boost recycling of electronics in the state.

Senate Bill 6428 passed the Washington state Senate by a vote of 38-11 and the House by a vote of 69-29.

The bill requires electronics manufacturers to develop and fund an electronics recycling program in the state that uses community drop-off centers run by retailers, nonprofits and government agencies.

In a press release, Rep. Brian Sullivan (D-Mukilteo), chair of the House Natural Resources, Ecology and Parks Committee and sponsor of the House version of the bill, says, "The beauty of this approach is that it makes recycling simple and free for consumers and links electronics recycling with electronics manufacturing, allowing companies to save money if they reduce their use of toxic materials."

The bill was supported by Hewlett Packard, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart and the Washington Retail Association as well as by local governments and environmentalists, according to Sullivan.

The bill has been sent to Gov. Christine Gregoire for her signature.

According to the bill, manufacturers must participate in an independent plan or the standard plan to implement and finance the program no later than Jan. 1, 2009, and must register with the state by Jan. 1, 2007, and annually thereafter.

Manufacturers must submit their initial independent plans or the standard plan by Feb. 1, 2008, according to the bill. The state Department of Ecology will review each plan.

Pasadena, Calif.-based electronics recycler trueCycle Inc. has received ISO 9001:2000 and 14001:2004 certifications, according to company founder and CEO Todd Hill.

ISO 9001:2000 certification means that the company has established and adheres to quality management standards in its business and customer relations, while ISO 14001:2004 certification means that the company has established environmental management systems.

The company says that the combined standards "address important business and societal issues such as social responsibility, sustainability, conformity assessment, services standards and customer satisfaction."

Hill says, "Electronics waste must be recognized as a special category, not simply because of the environmental impact of improper disposal, but also because e-waste posses greater opportunity for unauthorized access to personal or corporate information that may remain on hard drives and other electronics storage media, exposing corporations to risks associated with identity theft."

He adds, "The adoption of rigorous ISO standards allows trueCycle to better protect the environment and our customers."

TrueCycle operates facilities in Placerville and Victorville, Calif., that provide asset management services, electronic scrap materials reclamation, recycling, volume reduction processing, environmental certification and equipment tracking services.

More information on trueCycle and its services is available at www.truecycle.com.