Washington, D.C. – The CE
industry this morning launched the eCycling Leadership Initiative,
described as a first-ever industry-wide electronics recycling initiative to
recycle one billion pounds of electronics annually by 2016, which would be a
more than threefold increase over 2010.
The Initiative seeks to improve
consumer awareness of the more than 5,000 collection sites currently sponsored
by industry; increase the amount of electronics recycled responsibly; increase
the number of collection opportunities available; and provide transparent
metrics on ecycling efforts. One billion pounds of electronics, if not properly
recycled, would fill about 88.9 million cubic feet, equivalent to an entire
71,000-seat NFL stadium.
“The launch of the eCycling
Leadership Initiative is a watershed moment in the history of electronics
recycling in the United States,” said Gary Shapiro, president/CEO of CEA. “Our
members have been on the forefront of ecycling advancements, and today a
forward-thinking industry is challenging itself to go even further.”
The eCycling Leadership Initiative
is a collaboration among consumer electronics manufacturers, retailers,
collectors, recyclers, non-governmental organizations and governments at all
levels, coordinated by CEA, the association said.
At this morning’s event
executives from Best Buy, Panasonic, Sony Electronics and Toshiba America
Information Systems, among others, addressed their recycling efforts and the
goals of the initiative.
The Initiative is also looking
at ways to continue to work with the Obama Administration’s Taskforce on Electronics
Stewardship, co-chaired by the White House Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and General Services
Administration (GSA), that is currently developing a national strategy for
responsible electronics recycling.
“The billion pound challenge is
about both the quality and quantity of electronics recycling,” said Walter
Alcorn, CEA’s environmental affairs and industry sustainability VP said in a
statement. “But we won’t stop at a billion pounds. The eCycling Leadership
initiative is an ongoing, permanent initiative that will follow the best
practices and commitment of industry, including practices that prohibit the use
of recyclers and downstream processors who dump end-of-life electronics in
developing nations.”
CEA supports the movement
toward third-party recycler certification and encourages more recycling in such
facilities. Specific to the eCycling Leadership Initiative, the consumer
electronics industry supports the voluntary implementation of these recycler
certification systems so that the billion pounds is recycled in third-party
certified facilities.
“This unique industry-led
approach transcends the patchwork of current state recycling regulations with
an aggressive set of industry goals and standards,” Alcorn added. “Through the
eCycling Leadership Initiative, the consumer electronics industry is moving
toward a national solution and away from the costly and confusing patchwork of
state regulations.”
A major component of the
initiative will be consumer education, including new online tools and mobile
apps, to help make recycling used electronics as easy as buying new ones. The
eCycling Leadership Initiative will bolster the number of collection sites by
working with state and local governments, and charities for additional sites.
In order to enhance the
initiative’s transparency and accountability, CEA will issue an annual national
progress report that will measure eCycling growth, using 2010 as a baseline.
For more information on the
eCycling Leadership Initiative
.
