Report emphasizes need for e-waste bill, senator says
by Bruce Geiselman, Waste News
14 December 2005 – Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., says a recently released government report underscores the need for legislation that would encourage the recycling and reuse of electronic waste.
Jeffords, the ranking member of the Senate Environment Committee, said he plans to craft bipartisan legislation in the new year.
He made the comments at the same time the Government Accountability Office -- the investigative arm of Congress -- released a report recommending that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency strengthen the federal role in encouraging the reuse and recycling of electronics.
The GAO report said more than 100 million computers, monitors and TV sets become obsolete each year, and the number is growing. Most of the items sit unused in garages, attics and warehouses, according to the GAO report.
The report highlights economic factors that discourage recycling, especially while federal environmental laws allow the continued disposal of electronics in landfills and shipment of electronics overseas for dismantling where fewer environmental protections exist.
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