Dive Brief:

• New Jersey’s e-waste law could be updated to align more with the electronics waste legislation adopted in Connecticut.
• Under the current New Jersey law, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) dictates the volume of e-waste manufacturers are responsible for recycling annually.
• The new legislation is aimed at increasing the government’s role in the program to reflect Connecticut’s, whose law lets government officials name prices contractors are paid from the manufacturers backing the project.

Dive Insight:

Another difference in Connecticut’s e-waste law is that there is no set collection target manufacturers must reach. In New Jersey, the targets have caused problems because manufacturers will often stop processing waste after goals are attained. 

In addition, there is no way for the state to verify the accuracy of figures provided by the manufacturers to show the amount of waste that is processed, according to Marie Kruzan, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Recyclers. An issue currently facing recyclers is that they aren’t getting paid enough by manufacturers to process the waste. If changes to the existing laws are implemented, this could change.

Illinois and New York states are eyeing possible amendments to their current e-waste extended producer responsibility laws as well.