9.09.2005

INDUSTRY ASKS CONGRESS FOR NATIONAL POLICY ON RECYCLING

Electronics industry officials tell the House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
that federal involvement is needed to develop a national
policy on the recycling of waste electronics and to avert a
"patchwork" of state regulations, but they remain divided on
how to pay for it. Witnesses testifying before the
subcommittee propose a range of approaches, such as an
advance recycling fee added to the retail price of a product
or the addition of internal costs to be absorbed by
manufacturers. Lawmakers are now considering various
approaches to deal with the nation's growing stream of old,
discarded electronic products. They could wait to review the
results of differing laws in California, which mandates a
consumer-based advance recycling fee, and Maine, which
promotes manufacturer responsibility, according to Rep.
Gillmor, the subcommittee chairman.

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