Vetoed e-scrap bill reintroduced in New Jersey

HAMILTON (Scrap Monster): New Jersey lawmakers have reintroduced the e-scrap bill that was pocket vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie last month. The same bill has now been reintroduced in the Senate and Assembly. The new bill is S981 in the Senate and A2375 in the Assembly.

Earlier, during the last legislative session in January, the Governor had vetoed the Assembly Bill 4763 that was aimed at revamping the extended producer responsibility program for electronics in the state. The bill had proposed radical changes in the way manufacturers’ recycling obligations are calculated.

Under the terms of the bill, recycling obligations would have been based on the actual weight of material collected every year. Also, the bill would have added computer printers and fax machines to the list of covered electronics.

As per A4763, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is entitled to set annual recycling collection quotas for manufacturers depending on the total weight in pounds actually collected during any program year. The new law would have led to huge annual cost savings for local governments.

Electronics recyclers have long been demanding a change in the state’s extended producer responsibility law. The present law leads to huge spending by local governments towards disposing of used electronics. Most manufacturers meet their annual recycling obligations well before the expiration of calendar year, thereby making it the responsibility of local governments to dispose the excess electronic waste by using public funds. The situation has also led to halting of collections by some cities and counties.