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Hinkle praises passage of
bill to study electronic recycling
The Department of Ecology
would find out how tossed-out electronics affect landfills, and develop
recommendations for collecting, reusing and recycling them under a bill
that has passed the House of Representatives.
Rep.
Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, praised House Bill 2488 as a good first
step in addressing the emerging “e-waste” issue.
“This bill brought together people from local governments, businesses
and environmental groups,” said Hinkle. “We wanted to make sure we were
handling e-waste correctly, but the research we needed to make
recommendations just hasn’t been collected yet. This bill would help us
get the right information to help us move forward.”
Used electronic products such as computers, monitors and televisions
have been accumulating in homes and businesses, or entering landfills.
Many of them contain hazardous materials including lead, mercury, flame
retardants and chromium. Cathode ray tubes in computer monitors and
video displays can contain four to eight pounds of lead.
HB 2488 would direct the Department of Ecology to evaluate e-waste
programs already in place and develop recommendations for implementing
and financing new ones. When developing those plans, the bill requires
the department to consider urban versus rural recycling challenges, find
ways to get electronics manufacturers involved, and come up with
possible state financing options. The bill would also direct the
department to evaluate the suitability of lined and unlined facilities
for disposing e-waste, determine the effect landfill bans have on this
problem, and develop possible performance measures for assessing e-waste
collection, reuse and recycle programs.
“Most of us have old computers, monitors or TVs stashed in some back
closet because we’re not quite sure what to do with them,” Hinkle said.
“This measure would help us find out what we’re doing with e-waste and,
if necessary, come up with a plan to recycle or dispose of it.”
Hinkle noted that an earlier draft of the bill made recommendations for
dealing with e-waste before stakeholders had reached a solid consensus
about its real risk to communities. He called the final bill a reasoned
compromise that would allow the state to assess any risk, find out if
there are any free-market solutions to the problem, and keep from
overburdening the industry.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
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For more information, contact:
John Handy, Assistant
Communications Director - (360) 786-5758
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