Domestic factors influencing the supply of US UEPs available for export

E-waste Recycling  |  2013-03-14 05:33:06   |   By

The US ITC study report titled -Used Electronic Products: An Examination of US Exports, has identified domestic factors playing a major role in relegating the supply of Used Electronic Products (UEPs) available for export.

NEW YORK (Scrap Monster) : The US ITC study report titled “Used Electronic Products: An Examination of US Exports” has identified domestic factors playing a major role in relegating the supply of Used Electronic Products (UEPs) available for export.

U.S. exports of UEPs are particularly affected by several domestic factors. First, the greater the domestic capacity to collect, triage, process, and ultimately recycle, refurbish or discard UEPs and materials, the smaller will be the supply of U.S. UEPs available for export. Additionally, at least 28 state-level laws and regulations impact recycling activities and the cost structure of the industry.

The most important factor affecting the supply of U.S. UEP exports is the capacity within the United States to collect and process UEPs for refurbishment or recycling. Collection of UEPs increased 38 percent from 2006 to 2010 in the United States, by weight. Even with that growth, however, it was estimated that only 27 percent of electronic products that were ready for end-of-life management were collected in 2010.

The strong U.S. market for new electronic products creates a large U.S. supply of UEPs for the recycling industry, but there is not an equivalent U.S. demand for raw materials reclaimed in the recycling process. Instead, it is the large manufacturing centers, such as China, Korea, and India, that demand raw material inputs for their manufacturing industries.

According to industry representatives, state legislation is a primary driver of residential and many commercial collection programs for UEPs. As of October 2012, 28 states have passed some form of legislation regulating UEPs, e-waste, and certain materials found in electronic products, beginning with California in 2003.

A large challenge for the UEP industry is that the patchwork of state laws does not easilyallow for an integrated national collection and processing network of UEPs. Even when states’ policies have similar frameworks, specific requirements are often different. These differences can substantially affect the operation of organizations, depending on which state they are located in. This presents particular challenges for organizations that operate in more than one state.