Natural Resources Committee Says, “Not Now To Recycle Proposal

September 17, 2009

Following an elaborate proposal from the Utah Recycling Coalition, created by resolution of Legislature in the 2009 General Session, the joint legislative interim committee on Energy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment put a proposal on hold for additional study.

The Coalition spent the last several months crafting a recycling plan for electronic devices waste in a proposal the call “E-Scrap”. According to the explanation given to the legislative committee, the recycling program for used televisions, computers and monitors, cell phones, etc. would mandate a statewide recycling program to be administered by local governments, private entities and the Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste within the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. The cost of the proposed program would be borne by the manufacturers of such electronic devices according to their market share in Utah.

While the coalition did not have a prepared bill or sponsor, they requested the legislative committee endorse the proposal and send it forward as a committee “bill”.

The only entity to speak against the proposal and urge the committee to take caution was the Utah Manufacturers Association’s President Tom Bingham. He countered the assertion that “manufacturers were involved in the study process and that they were supportive of the approach”. Bingham noted for the committee members that UMA was not invited to participate in the preparation of the proposal. He also pointed out that Utah does not have any end product manufacturers of electronic devises being considered, but that electronic component manufacturers in Utah were very concerned that this proposal is just the first step in a much more comprehensive program to include component manufacturers in the registration and taxing to fund future recycling efforts.

UMA asked the committee to hold the proposal until all the stake holders, including Utah manufacturers, were included in the process. Following Bingham’s testimony the committee voted 12-5 to not consider a formal bill in either the October or November 2009 interim meetings as requested by the proponents. Word has it that UMA will shortly be invited to sit at the table and give input to the Coalition on how to craft a market-driven recycling program for E-Scrap in Utah. UMA supports the recycling of such hazardous wastes, but not at the expense of manufacturers. Many large final product manufacturers of electronic devices have voluntary recycle programs, an approach UMA also supports.