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Legislation relating to electrical and electronic waste
Sims Recycling Solutions works in partnership with its clients to fulfil the demands of current and expected legislation in each of its operations across five continents. In fact where possible, Sims Recycling Solutions chooses to use processes that exceed the requirements of government legislation.
The Basel Convention came into force in 1992 and is a comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes. It aims to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects resulting from the generation, management, trans-boundary movement and disposal of hazardous and other wastes. In relationship to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, the Basel Convention prevents the movement of these wastes from OECD to non-OECD countries.
Environmental concerns have also lead many governments to introduce specific legislation to reduce the use of hazardous substances within electrical and electronic goods manufacturing. Other legislation has been developed to reduce the amount of hazardous waste sent to landfill and encourage greater recycling of materials.
The main Federal legislation for e-recycling, overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency is:
The Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Recycling Regulations. They were developed by the EPA to promote the reuse and reclamation of useful materials in a manner that is safe and protective of human health and the environment. They include specifications for equipment containing mercury such as thermostats and handling of cathode ray tubes (CRT’s) found in televisions and computer monitors. Further information can be found on the EPA website.
TCLP - Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure
The TCLP is a test undertaken by the EPA on wastes that might be destined for landfill. If the waste fails the TCLP it needs to be treated as hazardous waste which limits the disposal routes and is far more expensive. CRT glass from televisions & monitors has been shown to fail TCLP and it is the reason why there are many landfill bans.
CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act
Commonly known as Superfund, this law was designed to clean up abandoned hazardous waste disposal sites and authorizes the EPA to identify parties responsible for contamination of sites and compel the parties to clean up the sites. The risk for waste generators (i.e. our customers) is that they will be identified as a “potential responsible party” as a waste generator that had “arranged’ for the disposal. It is a key reason why companies should ensure their hazardous electronics are recycled by Sims Recycling Solutions rather than being disposed to landfill.
Federal CRT Rule
This rule, issued in July 2006, attempts to prevent the export dumping of CRT-based devices overseas by requiring notification of export to the EPA, even when for reuse.
The National Electronics Recycling Infrastructure Clearinghouse website outlines statutes by state. Sims Recycling Solutions has facilities in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is the EU’s primary driver to achieving a higher level of environmental protection and encouraging resource efficiency. It sets targets for the collection, reuse and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment.
The Restriction of Hazardous Waste (RoHS) Directive deals with the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. This targets the manufacturers of products to minimise the possibility of known hazardous substances being used in new equipment and potentially entering the environment over the course of the product's lifecycle.
Hazardous Waste Regulations have been implemented across Europe to restrict the disposal of hazardous waste, without pre-treatment, by any business that operates within certain country specific parameters.
The Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations have been implemented to control the movement of waste (including recyclable materials) between countries. The regulations require auditable trails of all waste materials being exported, imported and moved across country borders.
Further information on EU legislation relating to the handling of waste can be found on the Europa website. Links to country specific organisations are available on the Recycling Organisations page.
The Hazardous Waste Act 1989 governs the disposal of hazardous waste, which includes e-waste.
The Department of Environment & Heritage has imposed restrictions on the exportation of electronic equipment, deemed as Hazardous Waste in order to stem the flow of such products in various conditions to developing nations, where such equipment would have a limited useful life.
The regulations are geared to drive a stronger environmental recycling emphasis in Australia while regulating that the country that has created the waste is responsible for its proper environmental disposal.
View key environmental legislation in other Asia Pacific nations via links on the Recycling Organisations page.