Is free e-recycling really free?
Published 1:10 pm Friday, March 13, 2009
Did you know you can recycle your old electronics — TVs, computers and monitors — for free?
You can under a new statewide program, E-Cycle Washington.
There are more than 200 drop-off sites in the state, including more than 20 in Snohomish County. See a list of our local collectors and my latest story on the issue here. (You can also read an earlier story with more details about the program here.)
Under a law passed in 2006, manufacturers are now footing the costly e-waste
recycling bill — roughly $10 million a year — instead of goverments and consumers.
Since the program started Jan. 1, residents, schools and others have recycled 6.5 million pounds of e-junk.
Program organizers think this so-called product stewardship program, likely to be the first of many of its kind in the state, is a phenomenal success.
Not everyone feels that way.
Paul Ferguson of Brier wrote me to say the recycling costs, under the program, will be instantly diverted back to consumers in the form of higher-priced electronics. It’s just a tax, he said:
With increased costs to everyone, our standard of living is lowered, not improved. This is what is meant as being a successful government outcome — a new revenue source without the need to label it as a “tax”!
To be clear, state government isn’t gaining any revenue. Payments for the recycling are handled by the Washington Material Management &Finance Authority, which is funded and run by manufacturers, not government.
What do you think about the program?
Write me here to share your thoughts or comment below.
If you’re thinking of buying a new computer after recycling your old one, there is a new, greener way to shop.
It’s called EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool).
Though the program caters mostly to businesses and others who buy large volumes of computers, there is a consumer page to guide you to electronics that are easier on the environment at Buy.com and TechDepot.com by Office Depot, featuring products with EPEAT’s bronze, silver and gold seal of ratings.
That’s cool, right?
