Environment
As Ranking Member of the Environment and Economy Subcommittee, I think it’s important to keep the air we breathe and the water we drink clean while not imposing unreasonable burdens on our economy.
Recycling Electronic Waste Responsibly and Creating Jobs
Discarded computers, TVs, phones, and other consumer electronics (so-called electronic waste or e-waste) now comprise the fastest growing waste stream in the U.S. Rapid advances in technology mean that electronic products are becoming obsolete more quickly. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that in 2009 alone, the U.S. generated over 3.1 million TONS of e-waste. The management of used electronics presents a number of significant environmental, health, and national security concerns. Much of the e-waste collected in the U.S. for alleged “recycling” or “reuse” is actually exported to developing nations such as China, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Thailand for unsafe salvage and metals recovery. In 2010, the Government Accountability Office determined that most of these receiving countries lack the capacity to safely recycle and dispose of these discarded and used electronics.
By exporting these used products, we are also exporting recycling and repair jobs that could be held by U.S. workers. Many responsible recyclers in the U.S. operate under-capacity, undercut by brokers exporting e-waste to developing nations. These exports also fuel a growing counterfeit chip market in China that sells fake military grade chips into our military supply chain. Although many countries, including those in the European Union, have developed laws to address electronic waste disposal and management, the United States does not have a comprehensive national approach for the export of used electronics. The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act of 2011 provides the regulatory framework needed to address this dire situation.
For these reasons, I introduced H.R. 2284, the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act. H.R. 2284 prohibits the export of certain electronic waste from the U.S. to developing nations. Tested and working equipment can still be exported to promote reuse. This approach is consistent with the policy most other developed nations have adopted via international treaties such as the Basel Convention. Importing countries must give their consent to accept all of the exempted exports. The bill also creates a research program for improving technology and capacity for recovering and recycling Rare Earth materials. With this bill we can grow our domestic recycling industry while successfully managing the e-waste created within our own country.