MMA letter to House Ways and Means in support of electronic waste bill

The Honorable Charles Murphy, Chairman
House Committee on Ways and Means
State House, Boston

Dear Chairman Murphy,

On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association would like to offer strong support for H. 4374, An Act to require Producer Responsibility for Collection, Reuse, and Recycling of Discarded Electronic Products, and we respectfully request that the Committee give the bill a favorable report. The legislation relieves a financial and environmental burden on cities and towns by requiring producers of electronic waste to take financial responsibility for recycling their end-of-life products.

This legislation is a re-file of legislation that the MMA has supported in the past and was reported out of the House Ways and Means Committee last session. The bill calls for producers of electronic waste (televisions, computers and printers) to pay for responsible recycling of those products when they reach their end of life. Manufacturers would be required to pay municipalities and/or retailers for collection and storage of discarded electronics and would also pay for the safe recycling of electronics by a certified recycler.

Discarded electronics make up the fastest growing portion of the municipal solid waste stream in the Commonwealth. It is estimated that less than 20 percent of the approximately 183,000 tons of e-waste generated in Massachusetts is recycled. The problem with this is that many e-waste products contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and PVC, which leach into our environment when these products are put into landfills instead of being recycled.

More than 240 municipalities have taken on the burden of e-waste recycling; 160 localities charge residents a drop-off fee, 80 municipalities charge either a small or no fee and 21 communities have annual or semi-annual e-waste drop off days. E-waste recycling costs communities hundreds of thousands of dollars per year just for the recycling and disposal charges, in addition to the uncalculated cost of administrative, collection, and transportation expenses. In 2007, Massachusetts municipalities reported spending a total of $1.8 million on e-waste processing.

H. 4374 would address this municipal cost by requiring companies that manufacture the electronics to pay for recycling. This will help municipal budgets and provide an incentive for manufacturers to make cleaner products that are easier to recycle.

The MMA is pleased to support this legislation as it would help solve the state’s growing environmental problem of e-waste disposal and have a positive effect on municipal budgets. Please favorably advance this important legislation.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey C. Beckwith
MMA Executive Director