Safe place for e-waste.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Once again, Oregon has joined the rapidly growing ranks of states that are filling the void in national leadership on critically important environmental issues.

Earlier this year, the state Legislature approved legislation that will give Oregon one of the toughest renewable energy standards in the country and make a significant, long-term reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, those linked to global warming.

Now, lawmakers have approved a bill that will, once the governor has signed it into law, establish free electronic-waste recycling throughout the state. That's good news for Oregonians, whose landfills in recent years have seen a troubling increase in toxic waste from old computers, televisions and other electronic devices.

When the law goes into effect at the start of 2009, consumers, small businesses and nonprofit organizations will be able to drop off up to seven devices at state-authorized recycling centers without any direct cost. The program will be paid for by electronics manufacturers, who presumably will pass the nominal cost on to consumers.

The program's cost - more precisely, determining who would get stuck with paying it - has been a legislative stumbling block since electronics recycling first was proposed four years ago. Television manufacturers and other interests argued for direct consumer fees, but lawmakers wisely opted for the manufacturer-fee approach. The reluctance of many consumers to pay the fees charged by existing electronics recycling programs is the primary reason why the closets of many Oregonians have become de facto electronics museums.

Electronic devices are no petty contributors of toxic waste. A single television picture tube can contain up to 10 pounds of lead powder, a substance that is highly poisonous to human nervous systems. TVs, computers, monitors and other devices also can contain mercury, cadmium, chromium, brominated flame retardants and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, all of which pose a risk to human health and the environment if not properly handled.

Once Gov. Ted Kulongoski signs this bill into law, as expected, Oregon will become the seventh state to put an e-waste recycling program in place. Others include California and Washington, which means the entire West Coast should be an e-waste free zone.

Well, not quite. Oregon's program doesn't cover electronics products such as cell phones and iPods, although the Legislature can easily add such items to the law in the future.

Meanwhile, Congress is moving with the speed of a wounded armadillo to consider national electronics recycling legislation. Given that similar proposals have gone nowhere since 2003, Oregon lawmakers were wise not to wait for the feds to act.

After all, there's only so much room in Oregonians' closets for those old computers.