E-Waste Recycling on the Road to Getting Easier

It hasn’t been an easy process in the past for Utah residents trying to properly dispose of e-waste. E-recycling charges are often included in the price of electronics, but then citizens are often charged again when they try to drop unwanted appliances off — a bothersome (and pricey) burden that leaves people giving up on recycling, ultimately leading to more dangerous electronics corroding in landfills. Now, thanks to a bill cleared by state representatives today, manufacturers will shoulder the original recycling fees, leaving only drop-off fees with consumers. The KCPW news blogger Whittney Evans reports the words of representative Rebecca Edwards, who sponsored the bill:

There are lots of good reasons to recycle and we’ve had many of those addressed. But for me the basic of this bill comes down to an issue of fairness, that we in Utah deserve to receive the service of recycling that we pay for when we buy this product.

E-waste is among the fastest-growing environmental problems in the United States, and it’s something government officials aren’t taking lightly — according to the report, the bill passed 47-26, and is now moving on to a Senate vote where it will hopefully take hold and pave the way for more recycling laws in the future.

Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 6:45 pm and is filed under Blog Bites. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.