Dive Brief:
- Environmentalists are blaming insufficient recycling goals for manufacturers as the reason Normal, IL is being hit with thousands in unforeseen costs.
- The Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act, a law that requires manufacturers to defray the costs of recycling their products, could force the city and non-profit e-waste recycling programs to shut down due to reduced funding from manufacturers. As of January 1, 2012, electronics were banned from landfills.
- Once the manufacturers reach the recycling goals set by the state, their money can be withdrawn and pumped into another state without penalty.
Dive Insight:
Manufacturers readily reallocate funding because other states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have higher recycling quotas and greater penalties, according to Michael Brown, the executive director of the Ecology Action Center in Normal.
The town now pays thousands to recycle electronics, whereas the same services used to cost nothing at all. A local non-profit was forced to end its e-waste recycling program last week as costs reached unsustainable levels for the agency. In the past, their e-waste program generated revenues, rather than fees.
Brown noted other counties across Illinois are experiencing the same issues, prompting towns to shutter e-waste recycling centers in the wake of escalating costs. He suspects the same issues will resurface by the end of 2015.
After being made aware of the law’s pitfalls, State Representative Dan Brady (R) said he wasn’t aware of the significance of the problem, and has since scheduled a meeting with Brown while officials in Normal explore various strategies in order to find a viable solution to the issue. Brady said, “It was a well-intentioned law with unintentional consequences.”