About Electronics Recycling Laws

Electronics contain toxic chemicals and waste that is a pollutant to the earth if put in a landfill. With the ever-growing use of electronic devices in today’s homes, laws have been developed as to the proper disposal of these items so that the landfills are not overcome with hazardous waste from the components found inside of electronic devices.

• Cathode ray tubes have a certain way that they are to be disposed of and transported for trade. If this type of device is being exported for trade there is a specific form that must be completed and signed that states the dangers of the material. It must be signed and accompany an export, or the export cannot be transferred.

• Most electronic recycling is not federally regulated, and therefore many states have decided to enact their own state laws in regard to the recycling of used electronics. For example, the state of West Virginia fines all manufacturers of electronics that do not have a recycling system in place for their products. Laws vary by state.

• Many states have mandated programs that force electronics manufactures to have take back programs in place that allow consumers to dispose of their broken and unwanted electronics for free to the manufacturer in which they were made. Fines usually accompany any violation of this law.

• Some states charge a set recycling fee with each sale of electronic items in order to prepare for the recycling needs of the products in the future. Although this has not been set in place in many states, there are a few that have this flat rate recycling fee on consumer electronics.