E-Waste

The New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act was signed into law on May 28, 2010. It requires manufacturers to manage and fund programs for the collection and recycling of electronic waste in New York State. This law is intended to relieve New York local municipalities of the costly burden of managing hazardous e-waste, and provide free and convenient recycling of electronics to consumers and businesses in New York State.

Although the Act has succeeded in increasing electronics recovery, the requirements for manufacturer collection are not keeping pace with the amount of e-scrap being collected. This results in unexpected costs to local governments and discontinuation of permanent collection sites. Insufficient manufacturer support is causing instability in the electronics recycling market, which is eroding the law’s intent to provide free and convenient collection to all NYS residents.

NYPSC in Action

NYPSC supports a legislative amendment to the Act and has developed a Solutions Platform to address challenges that have been encountered during the implementation of the NYS e-waste recycling law. NYPSC encourages local governments to pass a resolution to support a legislative amendment.