WASHINGTON –
The CE industry has 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.
Gary Shapiro, president/CEO of CEA, said,
“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 the 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.
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.
The eCycling Leadership Initiative will bolster the number
of collection sites by working with state and local governments,
and charities for additional sites.
