Europe may pass electronics take-back law.

The European Parliament, the legislative branch of the EU, has initially approved two directives that will require electronics manufacturers to reduce the amount of hazardous substances in their equipment and to pay for the recycling of their products. The EU proposals are aimed at making electronics manufacturers take a comprehensive approach to the issue of electronic waste by dealing with the problem at the beginning and end of a product's life cycle.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive (WEEE) will set up a "polluter pays" policy, which will hold electronics manufacturers responsible for treatment, recovery, and disposal of their products in Europe. Consumers will be able to return electronic appliances--computers, video games, digital cameras, refrigerators, hair dryers, etc.--to manufacturers free of charge. The proposal sets a target date of December 2005 to begin annual collection of an average of at least 6 kilograms per person.

The second measure, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive, will ban the use of a number of toxic materials currently used in electronics, including lead, mercury, and cadmium. The initial proposal called for these chemicals to be phased out by 2008, but the Parliament changed the date to 2006 in the latest draft.

There is growing concern around the world about the buildup of electronic waste, much of which ends up in landfills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that computers and other electronic equipment account for about 22 million tons of waste per year in the United States. Most obsolete electronics have yet to make the trip to the landfill, according to the EPA, as 75 percent of unused electronic equipment is gathering dust in storerooms and attics. The U.S.-based National Safety Council estimates that, in 2002 alone, the number of old personal computers entering obsolescence in the United States will outpace the number of new PCs hitting the market by 3.2 million.

Of equal concern is the hazardous nature of the heavy metals contained within electronics, which can seep from landfills into water supplies or waft from incinerators into the atmosphere. "Electronic equipment is one of the largest known sources of heavy metals, toxic materials, and organic pollutants in municipal trash waste," said Leslie Byster of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, which estimates that 40 percent of the lead in landfills comes from consumer electronics.

One of the challenges existing for the WEEE measure is the question of responsibility for picking up old electronics from consumers. Electronics manufacturers fear that different countries may impose different requirements for recycling electronics. David Isaacs, of the U.S.-based electronics manufacturer Hewlett-Packard, argues that municipalities should take responsibility for collecting obsolete electronics because they have the infrastructure to do it.

Another obstacle to electronics recycling is the difficulty of handling toxic materials while attempting to recycle electronic components. And, redesigning products to eliminate those materials altogether won't be easy; several industry groups say that the phase-out date does not give adequate time to find viable alternatives to lead and mercury.

If the legislation is approved, it will change electronics manufacturing around the world, as Europe is the largest foreign market for U.S. electronic goods. "As a practical matter, it would have global implications," says Hewlett-Packard's David Isaacs. "We typically design and manufacture a product for global distribution. You can't have a Danish computer and a Minnesota computer and a Buenos Aires computer." The company estimates that the cost of industry adhering to these take-back and recycling laws would amount to $73.5 billion.

The International Association of Electronics Recyclers reports that nine countries already have corporate "take-back" laws for discarded electronics--including computers in some cases--and that 22 more countries will join them within five years. For example, earlier this year Japan began requiring manufacturers to take back used TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners. Computer equipment isn't covered, but could be in the future.

European steps forward on product take-back measures have motivated U.S. electronics makers to start a pilot project for the collection and recycling of electronic devices. The one-year project, scheduled to begin in October, will provide data to guide the creation of a cost-effective, permanent system. At the same time, U.S. government, industry, and environmental groups have come together to establish the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative, which will discuss potential solutions to the flow of electronic products into the waste stream.