Electronic recycling.

An assumption articulated by different stakeholders involved in the development of electronics recycling systems is the assumed extra burden created by multiple state programs in comparison with a national approach. This assumption was cited repeatedly in the recently released report from the U.S. Commerce Department, noted by private sector policy positions , cited by Members of Congress , and has even been articulated in multiple conference proceedings by officials implementing state programs. To date, however, no one has attempted to isolate and quantify this assumed state patchwork burden, thus creating uncertainty about the size and scale of such a burden – or whether it even actually exists. This study attempts to answer these questions.
As a step towards understanding the effects of multiple states enacting differing, independent electronics recycling systems, the National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) authors this study under the National Electronics Recycling Infrastructure Clearinghouse (NERIC) initiative. This study attempts to identify and quantify the existing and potential effects of ever-expanding state-level electronics recycling requirements. This study does not address the inherent benefits or drawbacks of any of the mandatory approaches, only the effects of the state patchwork approach on different stakeholders. This study also does not analyze the potential dead weight of harmonized programs implemented across multiple states, which could reduce dead weight costs to some extent. Nor does this study advocate the passage or defeat of any proposed legislation at the state or federal level. The study does analyze the effect of legislation already passed and enacted in the 4 mandatory state programs to date – California, Maine, Maryland, and Washington – and estimates the economic effect of additional programs potentially enacted during the next few years