The Basics of Electronic Stewardship Ronnie S. Sparks/Al Green

Introduction to the Basics of Electronic Stewardship From computers and cell phones, to portable communication and music devices -- the United States of America is, and will continue to be, a global leader in designing and developing new and improved electronic technologies. These technologies have become critical to our way of life and to our growing economy. With these technologies, however, comes the increasing challenge of protecting human health and the environment from the harmful effects associated with the unsafe handling and disposal of these products. Meeting this challenge will require a new strategy for electronics stewardship – one that is innovative, flexible, and pragmatic – that allows Americans to manage the electronics we use today more sustainably, and simultaneously promotes the new and innovative technologies of the future. Innovation is woven throughout America’s history and culture and is an asset we must employ to find solutions to the challenges we face today to sustainably manage our electronics.

Overview Executive Orders and EO National Strategy for Electronic Stewardship R2 and E-Steward Certified Recyclers Federal Management Regulation (FMR) Bulletin B-34, Disposal of Federal Electronic Equipment Reporting – Non-Federal Recipient Report

(EO) 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management, dated 24 January 2007 (EO) (EO) 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, dated 5 October 2009 include goals and objectives applicable to Electronics Stewardship. (EO) Note that EO builds upon and, in some cases, adds or amends to EO EO EO The goals, objectives, and sustainable practices outlined in both EOs must be met. Executive Orders and 13514

Both EO 13423, Section 2(h) and EO 13514, Section 2(h) require that federal agencies: Advance sustainable acquisition to ensure 95 percent of new contract actions including task and delivery orders, for products and services with the exception of acquisition of weapon systems, are energy-efficient (e. g., Energy Star, Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) or Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) certified); and Use environmentally sound practices with respect to disposition of all agency excess or surplus electronic products. EO Continue

EO 13423, Section 2(h) requires that federal agencies: enable the Energy Star feature on agency computers and monitors, establish and implement policies to extend the useful life of agency electronic equipment. EO 13423

EO 13514, Section 2(h) further requires that agencies promote electronics stewardship by: Ensuring procurement preference for EPEAT- registered electronic products; Establishing and implementing policies to enable power management, duplex printing, and other energy-efficient or environmentally preferable features on all eligible agency electronic products; and Implementing best management practices for energy-efficient management of servers and Federal data centers. EO 13514

EO Section 9 and EO 13514, Section 19 provide the following definitions applicable to this Program Area: Life-Cycle Cost-Effective - the life-cycle costs of a product, project, or measure are estimated to be equal to or less than the base case (i.e. current or standard practice or product) (EO 13423, Section 9). Sustainability and Sustainable - to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirement of present and future generations of Americans (EO 13423, Section 9 and EO 13514, Section 19(l)). EO ad EO 13514

This strategy, released on July 20, 2011, specifies Federal actions for ensuring electronic stewardship in the US. An interagency task force co-chaired by CEQ, EPA and GSA developed recommendations that focus on incentivizing design of greener electronics, ensuring the Federal government leads by example in acquiring, managing, reusing and recycling its electronics, increasing domestic recycling efforts, and reducing harm from US exports of electronic waste and improving safe handling of used electronics to developing countries. ing/taskforce/docs/strategy.pdf ing/taskforce/docs/strategy.pdf National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship

By implementing the recommendations presented in this National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship, developed by an interagency Task Force, the Federal Government will lay the groundwork for improving the design of electronic products and enhancing our management of used or discarded electronics. This Strategy provides a roadmap of how the Federal Government can use its authorities and leverage resources to seize this opportunity. By implementing the recommendations presented in this National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship, developed by an interagency Task Force, the Federal Government will lay the groundwork for improving the design of electronic products and enhancing our management of used or discarded electronics. This Strategy provides a roadmap of how the Federal Government can use its authorities and leverage resources to seize this opportunity.

1.Build Incentives for Design of Greener Electronics, and Enhance Science, Research and Technology Development in the United States. 2.Ensure that the Federal Government Leads By Example. 3.Increase Safe and Effective Management and Handling of Used Electronics in the United States. 4.Reduce Harm from US Exports of E-Waste and Improve Safe Handling of Used Electronics in Developing Countries. Four Main Goals

Life-Cycle Flow Chart Figure 1: Life-cycle flow chart for electronic products. Solid boxes refer to life cycle stages modeled by the EPA in 2011; dashed and gray boxes refer to stages where information was collected by recycler surveys, or that were not in 2011 modeled.

Terms Used Electronics versus E-Waste “E-waste,” “electronic waste,” “electronics waste,” “e-scrap,” and “end-of-life electronics” are terms that are often used to describe used electronics that are nearing the end of their useful life, and are discarded, donated or given to a recycler. The Task Force recognizes that the term “e-waste” and similar terms are commonly used in many parts of the world. For the purposes of this document, however, the Task Force considers “e-waste” a subset of “used electronics.” Used electronics can be reused, refurbished, and recycled, and can be a source of valuable parts and/or raw materials (e.g., gold, copper, glass), which can be returned to the supply chain to reduce overall waste. There is a general acknowledgement globally that some used electronics are exported to developing countries where they are not managed properly, and become e-waste. The use of the term “e-waste” is intentionally minimized in this document simply to emphasize the importance of reuse and responsible recycling. Reuse of used electronics will reduce the amount of waste generated, and proper recycling of used electronics can yield raw materials (e.g., gold, copper, glass, aluminum) that can produce an economic benefit as well as serve to return materials to the supply chain and reduce overall waste.

Promoting a Greener Design Currently the Federal Government is promoting greener design and more sustainable use of electronics through the EPA–Department of Energy (DOE) ENERGY STAR program, DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), (EPEAT ) and use of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool programs. These programs help the Federal Government and private consumers identify and purchase greener electronics, and provide a solid foundation to build more efforts to encourage the design, manufacture, and purchase of green electronics. Currently, the government uses these programs to guide its procurement of green electronics and has aggressive green purchasing mandates (notably the goal of 95% of sustainable acquisitions specified in Executive Order 13514). However, there are large gaps in its data and ability to demonstrate performance against those mandates, especially outside of the product categories covered by the EPEAT program. The Federal Government can help drive improved electronic product design, manufacture, and technology development in a variety of ways.

Environmentally Sound Disposition Practices The Federal Government currently follows a policy to employ environmentally sound disposition practices when handling excess Federal electronics and has several programs to encourage reuse, including the following: GSAXcess® website, Computers for Learning through which agencies register excess property and search for opportunities for its reuse by other Federal agencies and eligible state and local recipients, and the program, through which agencies donate used computers to schools and many eligible educational non-profit organizations. The Interagency Task Force has identified many opportunities to improve these programs and the policies under which agencies use them as well as opportunities to develop new programs where appropriate.

Reporting In accordance with GSA FMR Bulletin B-27 (July 22, 2010), submit an annual report of personal property furnished to non- Federal recipients (Non-Federal Recipients Report). The reporting tool has been updated to capture disposal information regarding property provided or conveyed to a much wider range of non-Federal entities, including, but not limited to, schools, state and local governments, contractors, grantees, donees, vendors (under either the exchange/sale provisions or under vendor take-back provisions), sales recipients, certified recyclers and refurbishers, landfills, incinerators, and trash disposal companies. Submit annual reports online at by October 15th of each year for the fiscal year (FY) just concluded beginning with reporting of FY2012 activity in FY2013. GSA will plan to post all data provided on for transparency and public information.

Non-Federal Recipients Report 40 U.S.C. Sec Annual executive agency reports on excess personal property FMR § —Is there any reporting requirement on the disposition of excess personal property? Yes, you must report annually to GSA personal property furnished in any manner in that year to any non-Federal recipients, with respect to property obtained as excess or as property determined to be no longer required for the purposes of the appropriation from which it was purchase

Non-Federal Recipients data screen functionality is much like the Exchange/Sale screen – the drop down for “Authority” notice the choices to make. Zip code look up: Zip4.usps.com/zip4

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