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Product Stewardship for Electronics:

EPA’s Current Initiatives

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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.

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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

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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

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I. Increasing Safe Recovery:Plug-In To eCycling-www.plugintoecycling.org

Housed in the EPA’s Office of SolidWaste’s Product Stewardship Team,Plug-In is:

A consumer electronics recycling outreach campaign that aims toincrease the availability of safeelectronics recycling.

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Plug-In Partnerships

EPA fosters partnerships withmanufacturers, retailers andgovernment organizations to focus more national attention on electronics recycling options and giveconsumers more places andopportunities to safely, convenientlyand affordably recycle old electronics

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Plug-In Partners: Who are they and what do they do?

Some examples:• Manufacturers

• Retailers

• State and Local Governments

Agree to host collection and outreachevents, feature ecycling information onwebsite and advertising information,document data collection, use recyclersthat meet EPA’s ESM recycling guidelines.

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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)

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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

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Upcoming Pilot Initiatives

Testing range of ways where manufacturers, retailers,governments and others can share financialresponsibility 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.

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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

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• Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC)- www.federalelectronicschallenge.net

• Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)- www.epeat.net

II. Improving Federal Stewardship of Electronics

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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

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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

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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

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Major Electronics Projects

Increase Safe Recovery

Improve Federal Stewardship

Improve Design

CRT Rule

NEPSI

Plug-In Program & Pilots

Safe Recycling Guidelines- Plug-In- OECD

Federal Electronics Challenge (OPPTS + OSW)

EPEAT

DFE: monitors, lead solder (OPPTS)

Design Challenge

Increase Safe Recovery

Improve Federal Stewardship

Improve Design

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For more information…• Plug-in to eCyclingwww.plugintoecycling.orgVerena Radulovic, USEPA Tel: (703) 605-0760 radulovic.verena@epa.gov

• Federal Electronics Challenge www.federalelectronicschallenge -Sonia Kassambara, Office of the Federal Environmental ExecutiveTel: (202) 564-9288 kassambara.sonia@epa.gov-Viccy Salazar, EPA Project MangerTel: (206) 553-1060 salazar.viccy@epa.gov

• EPEATwww.epeat.net-Viccy Salazar, EPA Project Manger (see above)-Larry Chalfan, Project Manager, Zero Waste AllianceTel: (503) 279-9383 lchalfan@zerowaste.org

The Big Picture on EPA’s The Big Picture on EPA’s Electronics Sector WorkElectronics Sector Work

Design Purchasing Use/Re-use End of Life

DfE Lead FreeSolder(OPPT DfE)

Electronics Product FactSheet(OPPT PPD)

Energy Star(OAR)

Plug into E-Cycling(OSW MISW)

DfE ComputerDisplay LCA(OPPT DfE)

Electronic ProductsEnvironmentalAssessment Tool(EPEAT)(OPPT PPD/OSW MISW)

Cell Phone Reuseevaluation(Reg 2)

National ElectronicProduct Stewardshipdialogue(OSW MISW)

SustainableElectronics DesignCompetition(OSW MISW)

Reused ElectronicsMarket Study(Reg 1)

TCLP Testing ofElectronicComponents(OPPT DfE, Reg 4 &5)

Proposed CRT Rule(OSW MISW)

READ Contract(OARM)

Federal Electronics Challenge(OPPT PPD, OSW MISW, Region 5, Region 9, Region 10, OFEE)

Resource Conservation Challenge Electronics Cluster (OPPT/OSW)

Environmental Management System (EMS) (Federal Government Wide)