Campaign Resources and More Information
After many years of successfully pressuring computer manufacturers to create and maintain responsible take back programs and recycling standards for their products, the Electronics Take-Back Coalition is launching a new campaign. With TakeBackMyTV, we hope to drive major manufacturers of the highly fragmented TV market to act responsibly here in the U.S. just as they are already doing in other countries.
This is a new TV campaign website which will continue to grow as our campaign does throughout the months ahead. For more information, visit our coalition homepage.
Our Video:
To see our video on YouTube go here.
The footage is provided by and copyrighted by the Basel Action Network 2005.
To see more footage and to order DVDs with details on the export of electronic waste to Africa and Asia, go to: http://www.ban.org/main/film.html.
Recent News:
Destination of 'recycled' electronics may surprise you
CNN.com Monday, November 19, 2007
Group Urges Free TV Recycling
AP News Thursday, November 15th, 2007
Frequently Asked Questions:
What Agreement Has Sony Signed for Responsible Recycling?
Sony Electronics USA is the first company to sign the Electronics TakeBack Coalition's new "Manufacturers Commitment to Responsible E-Waste Recycling" a groundbreaking agreement stating that Sony will follow three important principles (that are too often ignored by many recyclers in the US) for handling the e-waste they collect for recycling:
- No dumping toxic e-waste on developing countries
- No use of prison labor in electronics recycling
- No disposal of toxic e-waste in landfills or incinerators, including waste-to-energy incinerators.
While Sony is the first company to sign this Commitment, we are initiating a new campaign to persuade all electronics companies to follow Sony's lead and sign this commitment.
Why are we asking companies to follow the Manufacturer's Commitment to Responsible E-Waste Recycling?
Most U.S. electronics recyclers can make more money by using "low-road" strategies for handling the electronic products collected for "recycling" or "reuse" - including exporting them to developing countries, using captive prison labor to process e-waste, or even sending it to landfills or incinerators (here or in other countries). None of these are responsible recycling strategies, since they all can result in toxic contamination and exposure to the poor communities - here and overseas. Unfortunately, our federal government is part of the problem, rather than the solution - in fact they actively work against these three principles for responsible recycling.
Now that more electronics companies and retailers are launching electronics takeback and recycling programs (some voluntary, some because state laws require them to), we are stepping up our campaign to get these industry leaders, as global corporate citizens, to lead the way in making sure that their recyclers are not using low-road practices for handling the e-waste collected in their company programs.
Doesn't the Federal Government Promote High Standards For Electronics Recycling?
No, the U.S. is the only major country in the world that has refused to ratify the Basel Convention, an international treaty that prohibits the export of hazardous waste from wealthy countries to the developing world. In fact, actions by the current federal government actually promote low-road recycling. Here's how:
- EPA Promotes Exporting E-waste: The EPA has weakened environmental laws on exporting hazardous waste, by creating numerous exemptions to definitions of hazardous waste, and not ratifying a global treaty on trade in hazardous waste, allowing toxic electronic waste to be freely exported, usually in violation of laws in importing countries, and transferring US toxic waste to developing countries..
- Federal Government Promotes Prison Recycling: The federal government promotes the use of prison labor by actually operating the prison recycling plants themselves and by being their biggest customer. (There are seven federal prisons with e-waste recycling plants.) The EPA continues to support these irresponsible actions in spite of the fact that prisoners and guards have protested the dangerous conditions.
- EPA Promotes Land filling and Incineration E-Waste: The EPA refuses to set regulatory standards that prohibit putting e-waste in landfills and incinerators. While the federal law says that old style cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs and monitors shouldn't go in landfills, the EPA rules exempt households and small businesses from this landfill ban.
Who is Using Prison Labor for Recycling?
Our federal government is the biggest customer of prison recycling, as well as the owner of most of the plants. UNICOR is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Federal Prison Industries, which is part of the US Department of Justice. There are UNICOR e-waste recycling facilities in the federal prisons in: Atwater, CA; Elkton, Ohio; Ft Dix, NJ; Leavenworth, KS; Lewisburg, PA; Texarkana, TX; Tucson, AZ.
UNICOR prisons pay inmate "workers" from $0.23 to $1.15 per hour, with no benefits. Commercial recyclers paying payroll taxes, benefits and real wages can't compete and are therefore undercut by this government program. UNICOR facilities have serious health and safety problems, and are currently under investigation by the federal Inspector General's office, after an employee whistleblower filed a complaint.
>>More info on the problem with prison recycling.
Is it Legal To Put Electronic Waste in the Landfill or Incinerator?
Unfortunately, in most states, this is legal. The federal government doesn't let big business (large quantity waste generators) put CRTs in landfills, but they are allowed to dispose of other electronics there, and households and small business can put any electronics in the landfills in most states. Several states have passed laws making it illegal to put CRTs in landfills, and many more are considering such bans.
Why Shouldn't E-Waste go in the Landfill?
Electronic waste is toxic waste. Over 1,000 materials, including heavy metals such as lead and mercury, toxic flame retardants, among others. A CRT monitor can contain between four and eight pounds of lead alone. Big screen TVs contain even more than that. Flat panel TVs and monitors contain less lead, but most (all LCD TVs) use mercury lamps. About 40% of the heavy metals, including lead, mercury and cadmium, in landfills come from electronic equipment discards, and it is well documented that landfills will leak over time.
What Are The Health Risks from E-Waste?
Lead
The health effects of lead are well known; lead exposure causes brain damage in children and has already been banned from many consumer products.
Mercury
Mercury is toxic in very low doses, and causes brain and kidney damage. It can be passed on through breast milk; just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake, making the fish unfit to eat.
Cadmium
Cadmium accumulates in the human body and poisons the kidneys.
BFRs
Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) may seriously affect hormonal functions critical for normal development. Animal studies have identified damage to the developing brains and the reproductive systems of newborn animals exposed to certain types of brominates fire retardants. A recent study of dust on computers in workplaces and homes found BFRs in every sample taken. One group of BFRs, PBDEs, has been found in alarming rates in the breast milk of women in Sweden and the U.S.
