Connecticut’s E-Waste Program Doesn’t Unlawfully Interfere with Interstate Commerce, Says Court

SEATTLE (Waste 360): Connecticut’s electronics recycling program does not unlawfully interfere with interstate commerce, says a federal appeals court.

In 2007, the Connecticut legislature created a system where certain electronics manufacturers doing business in the state would have to register with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and pay a fee associated with the cost of recycling the products they produce. Essentially, the law mandates producer participation to facilitate the collection, transportation and recycling of certain electronic devices. 

As a manufacturer of non-cathode ray tube televisions sold nationwide, including Connecticut, VIZIO, Inc. was swept up in the state's recycling program. VIZIO did not dispute that it is a covered manufacturer under the law, nor did it contest the state's power to compel VIZIO to pay into the recycling program. VIZIO did, however, challenge how Connecticut calculates its recycling fee.

The program is operated by "covered electronic recyclers" (CERs)—private entities that register with the state and collect all "covered electronic devices" for recycling and dispose of them. For their part, the manufacturers pay their assigned fees directly to the CERs.

In 2015, VIZIO filed a complaint in federal district court, naming the DEEP commissioner as defendant and alleging that the national market share approach unlawfully regulates interstate commerce by directly regulating VIZIO's out-of-state sales and by controlling VIZIO's conduct outside of the state's boundaries. In short, as VIZIO saw it, Connecticut's national market share approach improperly ties in-state fees to out-of-state transactions and overcharges on out-of-state sales.

Courtesy: https://waste360.com