OK Techies this a Techie Public Service Announcement

[Major Kong]

Coming your way soon:

Two California legislators have introduced separate bills that would impose fees on PCs, monitors and other electronic devices to cover the costs of recycling those goods when they become obsolete.
One bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. Byron Sher, would establish a state program to recycle CRT (cathode-ray tube) devices including computer monitors and television sets. The bill sets July 1, 2003, as the starting date by which every retailer that sells CRT devices in the state must begin collecting from consumers an as yet unspecified fee that would go toward funding the program.

The other bill, authored by Democratic Sen. Gloria Romero, aims to set up a program to recover, reuse and recycle what it defines as hazardous electronic scrap. Under this proposal, starting Jan. 1, 2004, manufacturers would be required to label a wide range of electronic devices as hazardous and set up a system for taking back obsolete devices, or pay a fee to the state.

The Romero legislation encompasses virtually every high-tech product a consumer might buy, including computer and video monitors, desktop and notebook PCs, and handheld gadgets. Those devices contain, to one degree or another, substances such as lead and mercury that the bill describes as a "persistent biolaccumulative toxin," meaning that they gather in the body and can pose health risks.

The California proposals are among the first such governmental actions in the United States and are significant both because of the state's size and the many tech companies that call it home. European Union nations and Japan also have enacted or are debating similar legislation.

Health fears are part of the driving force behind such actions. There's also the sheer volume of electronic goods poised for a final trip to the junkyard. For example, the California Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB) estimates that state residents have stockpiled more than 6 million obsolete monitors and TV sets in their homes.

"Electronic scrap represents one of the fastest growing and most problematic components of California's waste stream," the Romero bill says, echoing what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said about e-scrap across the country.

Spurred by these concerns, manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, Sony Electronics and IBM have launched recycling and reuse programs in the United States and elsewhere, often charging consumers a fee of between $10 and $35. Retailers Best Buy and Staples also have conducted product take-back programs on a small scale.

The efforts are still somewhat tentative and in their early stages, but have been viewed in a positive light by many government agencies and industry observers.

"It truly seems the industry itself is recognizing they have issues to work with and is actively engaging in trying to find answers to those issues," said Michael Paparian, a member of the IWMB.

Environmental groups take a harsher view, saying that the high-tech industry hasn't done nearly enough and foists costs onto consumers that should be picked up by the manufacturers themselves.

"The U.S. is developing very questionable practices to deal with the problem of e-waste," said Ted Smith, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. "What we should be doing is establishing producer responsibility rules...Then we'll have money flowing to pay for an appropriate system."

Back to my comments:
As I posted back way last summer (2001) CRT's are hazardous because of the lead content. This issue is starting to come to the attention of the EPA and State EPA's. Waste regulations do not include private households, but do encompass all businesses. Several companies have been fined out the nu-nu (a technical environmental term ) for disposing of monitors improperly. Also a lot of the boards contain Cadmium, Lead, Mercury and other "hazardous metals". These items should not be casually thrown away. The regulations do allow for "circuit board" recycling, so if there is a recycler in your area you may want to check them out.
OK that's my public service announcement for today!

[TheLow1]

Please read my response in your best southern draw.....



Dang, Lead is bad fer ya. I rekon I better stop takin, them ole monitors out to th' desert and shootin at em.

[NooNoo]

I always wondered what they were gonna "do" about it... so they charge people a few bucks - but what are they gonna DO about it?

[Cleetus]

I guess then when we used to fill entire dumpsters with pc's and monitors it was a bad thing.

[TheLow1]

Charge schools and government that continues buying CRT's everyone else by LCD's

[Akuma]

Originally posted by NooNoo
I always wondered what they were gonna "do" about it... so they charge people a few bucks - but what are they gonna DO about it?

I don't think they are going to do 5|-|17. All they are interested in is a new way to suck more money out of the people. The polution will continue to escalate until some species dies or some family becomes one giant cancerous growth then when fingers are pointed they will be long gone with the money they were collecting to "help" with the polution.

[Stalemate]

Originally posted by Cleetus
I guess then when we used to fill entire dumpsters with pc's and monitors it was a bad thing.

We used to do that too in my previous job in the public sector.

[Major Kong]

My reaction to all of this is horse poo-poo! Cars, TV's, heck even toasters contain "haz-mat". Geez lets put a recycling fee on everything. Remember even that tanned leather contains Chromium (it's part of the tanning process). The reason the EPA hasn't jumped on this with both feet? TheLow1 is right. If the EPA cracked down they would have to start with themselves and all other government agencies, because the courts have now taken away the government's exemption (hence why so many old military bases are being cleaned up). They tried something like this a few years ago and it backfired. Fluorescent Lights fail for Mercury and Lead, there are green alternatives that are not a problem, and ALL Sodium Vapor and Metal Halide lamps fail. The EPA was ready to pounce when all the sudden the GAO (Government Accounting Office) said wait a minute buckoo's! Your new rule is going to cost the USA (re taxpayers) billions and billions of dollars because who do you think is the biggest user of light bulbs? That's right Uncle Sam! So the brakes were put on and lamps were reclassified to allow recycling. Now remember all of this applies to business only, not to your household (yet ).

[ilovetheusers]

Kong is dead on about army bases and the government being some of the worst poluters and for not being compliant. Army bases are exempt from examination and are opften so bad that they would shock the comporation that erin brockavitch sued (from what I have read and have seen on teevee).

This tax is a crock though. The money slated for this will never go for what it is supposed to.

In school we read and were told that computer equipment was to be slated for recycling. CRT's and the like contained dangerous elements and were not to be thrown away in the garbage. I asked what do you do with them though. No one could answer. I asked the same of the corrent business I work for and was told the same. If the taxes went to creating real facilities to recycle this stuff then I'm for it.

Does anyone really know what you are supposed to do with this stuff when it reaches it's life cycle now?

[Shard92]

WE looked into becoming a recycling center here. Now I wasn't involved in the whole process of finding out what you need to do but.... I never did get a straight answer about what do you actually do with monitors. The answer is of course.. take it to a recycling center.. but what if you are a recycling center? We ( or at least I wasn't ) able to get any info without some major investment. We can "recycle" computers and such by breaking them down into components and delievering the remainder ( that has no use anymore ) to the next recycling center in line. By the way according to this report I read while researching this the top 4 things to be recycled are 1) Monitor ( no surprise ) 2) CPU ( I assume they mean to include the motherboard and such in here ) 3) Keyboards! ( that's a surprise.. at least for me ) 4) printers ( for the printed circuit boards )

The recycling center here charges $15/monitor or Keyboard to recycle the stuff!

[Cleetus]

So let me get this straight. We pay for the monitor, there is an extra fee for Recycling(for major companies), we are taxed when we buy the monitor, then when we dispose of it, we must pay to do so properly.

Who the hell is running this show???

Let me guess, THE GOVERNMENT??? or MICROSOFT???
evil empires both of them are(in a Yoda mood)

Hey, I would like to do the right thing, but if you are going to charge me to get rid of the monitor...There are plenty of dumpsters all over the city that will take my monitor just as well for a fraction of the cost.

[Major Kong]

Originally posted by Cleetus
So let me get this straight. We pay for the monitor, there is an extra fee for Recycling(for major companies), we are taxed when we buy the monitor, then when we dispose of it, we must pay to do so properly.

Who the hell is running this show???

Let me guess, THE GOVERNMENT??? or MICROSOFT???
evil empires both of them are(in a Yoda mood)

Hey, I would like to do the right thing, but if you are going to charge me to get rid of the monitor...There are plenty of dumpsters all over the city that will take my monitor just as well for a fraction of the cost.

Actually Cleetus, er...Go Hokies , shoo I had to get that out of my system. This tax is for all! Business and home users alike. So the next time you buy a Dull er...Dell they may be telling you "Oh yes sir and of course there is the $25 obsolete tax, so save your box and when it get's old ship it to us Brown Ground for $40 and we will resell...er dispose of it for you."
Actually some places do have recycling centers. I know HP has some, and when I lived in Tucson there was one called Desert Recyclers (?) that several companies used.

[Shard92]

First off Cleetus, what he was talking about is something that is in the works. What i'm talking about is something that is in place here and now. What the law is suppose to do that he is talking about is collect the money first and then you don't have to pay to get rid of your monitor. Also right now there is no restrictions on the individual, only companies. You as a person can throw your computer/monitor in your dumpster but we as a business can't. Personally, I think it would be a good thing to do but only if something was actually done.. if you know what I mean. AS long as it didnt' just turn into another tax that gets rerouted into some other fund!

[WebHead]

Drat, drat and double drat!

[cc_penguin]

Spurred by these concerns, manufacturers such as Hewlett-Packard, Sony Electronics and IBM have launched recycling and reuse programs in the United States and elsewhere

Isnt that what Packard Bell did

I figured this was only a metter of time, guess Ill have to chunk all of my old crap before any major recycling bill is passed...

P.S They already do this (make you pay a fee) when you purchase a major home appliance, such as a refrigerator, washer & dryer, etc..)