Electronic Waste Bill Clears House

The House of Representatives has passed a bill to reduce improper disposal and encourage recycling of electronic waste such as cell phones and computers. The Electronic Device Recycling Research & Development Act (H.R. 1580) authorizes $60 million from fiscal 2010 to 2012 for EPA grants that target a reduction in volume of discarded electronic products. The grants will support pilot projects for product design, recycling, and reuse and will fund research on removing the toxic materials from discarded devices and developing longer lasting electronics. H.R. 1580 also authorizes $15 million for the same period for NSF grants that would support the development of university curricula on reducing electronic waste and "green engineering."