State lawmakers and grassroots campaigners met at the Capitol Tuesday to discuss new legislation designed to dispose of electronic waste, also known as e-waste, in a safe and cost-effective method.
Wisconsin State Assembly Rep. Mark Miller, D-Monona, sponsored the prospective bill, which would require major electronic corporations to provide either funding or services for the safe disposal of used electronics in Wisconsin.
“We are leaving it to the industry to devise a system that works the best,” Miller said. “This has the advantage that it does not create a new government program requiring new taxes.”
This legislation is part of a nationwide campaign called “computer take-back,” created by the GrassRoots Recycling Network.
According to the organization’s press release, most e-waste contains numerous hazardous materials that pose a threat to the environment and public health.
“Electronic equipment has proliferated so rapidly that it is the fastest-growing component of waste generated in the U.S. today,” Miller said.
The concept is modeled after already-successful programs currently at work in Europe and Japan, he said.
Several UW students have gotten involved in the program through Beyond Recycling, a student organization created by six GrassRoots interns. The organization has helped Miller with the legislation process, along with spreading the word on campus.
UW junior and Beyond Recycling member Rachel Seltzer said the group’s main goals are to increase awareness of the toxicity of computers and to persuade major computer companies to initiate their own disposal programs without the need for legislation.
“This is a growing problem that is really up to the producer because [proper waste disposal] is so expensive and local governments don’t have the money for it,” Seltzer said. “It’s like telling a two-year-old that if you’re going to make a mess, you’ve got to clean it up.”
Seltzer said out of the 300 million to 600 million obsolete computers in the United States today, only about 10 percent are properly recycled, and of that 10 percent, many are shipped overseas for dismantling in inhumane working conditions.
“As students, we are the first generation to have grown up with computers and are therefore the ones who are going to have to deal with the waste problem in the future,” said UW junior and GrassRoots intern Clare Cragen.
“Responsible producers of electronic equipment want to do the right thing,” Miller said. “This legislation would require all producers to do the right thing to protect human health and our environment.”
A hearing for the bill will be held Thursday.