A Cure for the E-waste Problem: Federal Laws and Enforcement

TUSCON, AZ — Uniform federal regulations and enforcement of environmental and safety standards are needed to stem the flow of illegal and dangerous electronics waste to developing countries.

This type of system could bring clarity to the current patchwork of state e-waste laws that has arisen from the disparate efforts of various players that have each attempted to address this global challenge, according to a new report from the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona.

The complexity of the issue has complicated the collection of fragmented state policies in the U.S., which was called a "regulatory disorder" by the authors of "E-Wasted Time: The Hazardous Lag in Comprehensive Regulation of the Electronics Recycling Industry in the United States."

"Given the global scope of the electronic waste problem, we conclude that this approach is inadequate for comprehensively managing the movement and proper end-of-life treatment of used electronics," the authors wrote. "While all the actors in the U.S. electronics recycling network have important perspectives and roles to play in formulating an appropriate regulatory system, the solution to managing this complex problem does not lay in each acting on their own."

Authors Maya Abela and Jacob Campbell, a trial attorney and PhD candidate, respectively, examined the short history of e-waste laws in the U.S. with an eye toward what the future holds for the electronics recycling industry. Combined, the patchwork has created uncertainty for the consumer, who either place too much or too little trust in the models.

They found that used electronics in the U.S. is largely unregulated, with the laws that do exist being confusing and out of sync. At the same time, the electronics recycling industry has stepped forward to create its own voluntary certification standards.

"Thus, the existence of multiple standards and programs for certifying electronics recyclers in the U.S. creates an uncertain system of regulation, because the 'market' can only hold companies within the industry accountable for their corporate practices to the degree that the public can actually discern a difference between non-certified and certified companies, and among companies certified by different programs," the authors wrote.