1EPA Product Stewardship for Electronics: EPA’s Current Initiatives

1EPA Background: Product Stewardship in Electronics Gaining Momentum International Initiatives: RoHs Directive, WEEE Directive, ELV Directive, Basel Convention Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative Domestic Initiatives: EPA’s CRT Rule, California SB 20, legislative activity in Maine, Massachusetts and Minnesota.

1EPA EPA’s Goal Electronic Products are designed and manufactured so they are: –Have lower impact on the environment, –Contain fewer hazardous and toxic constituents, and –Easier to reuse and recycle; Increased market demand for ‘greener’ electronic products; There are convenient, low cost electronics reuse and recycling centers; and Reuse and recycling centers are environmentally safe and robust markets exist for the materials

1EPA EPA’s commitment to reusing and safely recycling used electronics: Current Focus I.Increase Safe Recovery of Discarded Electronics II.Set Federal Example in Improved Stewardship of Electronics

1EPA I. Increasing Safe Recovery: Plug-In To eCycling- Housed in the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste’s Product Stewardship Team, Plug-In is: A consumer electronics recycling outreach campaign that aims to increase the availability of safe electronics recycling.

1EPA Plug-In Partnerships EPA fosters partnerships with manufacturers, retailers and government organizations to focus more national attention on electronics recycling options and give consumers more places and opportunities to safely, conveniently and affordably recycle old electronics

1EPA Plug-In Partners: Who are they and what do they do? Some examples: Manufacturers Retailers State and Local Governments Agree to host collection and outreach events, feature ecycling information on website and advertising information, document data collection, use recyclers that meet EPA’s ESM recycling guidelines.

1EPA Plug-In Plans for State and Local Governments Update Event Toolkit FAQs for Choosing Recyclers Listserve Plug-In awareness events in collaboration with state and local governments (i.e. Earth Day/electronics collection with DC Office of Recycling)

1EPA How does EPA support partner efforts? Recognizes partners at public events and in publications and outreach materials EPA officials mention partners on relevant news programs Highlights partners in press releases Provides technical assistance as needed for collection events

1EPA Upcoming Pilot Initiatives Testing range of ways where manufacturers, retailers, governments and others can share financial responsibility for recycling old electronics: Staples New England Pilot: electronics takeback program with manufacturer and retailer financial support Office Depot/Good Guys Pacific Northwest Pilot: electronics takeback program with manufacturer and retailer financial support Best Buy Minnesota Pilot: strategic awareness raising of drop off service ** Staples Redmond, WA/ Portland, OR Takeback Initiative. 3,000+ computers and notebook computers dropped off at stores for recycling. More than 2,130 donations made in the Puget Sound area More than 410 donations made in the Portland/Willamette Valley area. Represents over $25,000 in donations for local school districts.

1EPA Achievements and Next Steps Achievements: Since the program was launched in Jan. 2003, EPA signed on 15 members in the manufacturing and retail sectors. More than 26.4 million pounds of electronics were collected by partners in the first 10 months of the program. Next Steps: Continue recruiting private sector partners Continue to generate awareness in media and national events Improve outreach and awareness tools for local governments and private partners Launch national ecycling data collection mechanism Encourage widespread use of Plug-In’s Safe Recycling (ESM) Guidelines –NOW AVAILABLE

1EPA Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC)- Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)- II. Improving Federal Stewardship of Electronics

1EPA What is the Federal Electronics Challenge? The FEC is a purchasing, use, and end-of-life management challenge issued for federal facilities or agencies to: 1. Purchase greener electronic products 2. Manage electronic assets in an environmentally sound manner 3. Receive assistance to improve current practices

1EPA Some quick facts… Approximately 10,000 federally owned computers deemed excess or surplus each week –FEC establishing ESM guidelines and audit process for Federal Agencies U.S. federal sector represents a significant market share for electronics –FY 2003 IT budget –$53 BILLION (Hardware & Services) –FY 2004 IT budget – approximately $59 BILLION (Hardware & Services), FY 2005 and beyond – GROWING! Electronics represent serious environmental costs and opportunities for Federal Agencies –Federal Agencies CARE and are looking toward the FEC for answers. –See opportunities for cost savings and environmental gain –Avoid potential liability

1EPA What is EPEAT? To develop, build-on or adopt an assessment tool for electronic products and services and to actively disseminate saidassessment tool. The tool should: –Promote continuous improvement –Address the lifecycle –Inform purchasing decisions by institutional purchasers –Provide market advantage –Be low cost, user friendly, and causes minimal delay in time to market; –Produces credible, verifiable outcomes –Provides value in the marketplace

1EPA Major Electronics Projects

1EPA For more information… Plug-in to eCycling Verena Radulovic, USEPA Tel: (703) Federal Electronics Challenge -Sonia Kassambara, Office of the Federal Environmental Executive Tel: (202) Viccy Salazar, EPA Project Manger Tel: (206) EPEAT -Viccy Salazar, EPA Project Manger (see above) -Larry Chalfan, Project Manager, Zero Waste Alliance Tel: (503)

The Big Picture on EPA’s Electronics Sector Work