State laws are starting to crack down on companies that produce electronics as the amount of waste that the industry creates each year is getting greater and greater.  What many states are doing is requiring the electronics manufacturers to provide and collection programs that take in an amount equal to a certain percentage of their sales weight for any given year.  Some states are mandating that these programs be “convenient” for the consumer and some do not, which clearly will have an impact on whether consumers will take advantage or are aware that the programs even exist.

With all the differing state regulations, you would wonder why there are not laws on the federal level that mandate what happens to all the electronic waste.  We all know how hard it is to get federal legislation passed and with the current problems in our country, unfortunately a federal electronics recycling program doesn’t appear to be on the immediate horizon.   Most of the federal money that has been allocated to e-waste has been for research into better ways to actually recycle the waste – which clearly is important but we still need to have the programs in place to receive the waste before it can be recycled….double edged sword as always.