National E-Waste Strategy Unveiled

Representatives from industry and the Obama Administration last week announced a strategy for the responsible design, purchase, management, and recycling of old electronic products. The National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship will boost the growing U.S. electronics recycling market. It also commits the federal government—the nation’s largest electronics consumer—to adopt more environmentally friendly electronics practices. The U.S. annually generates almost 2.5 million tons of used electronics, which contain valuable resources such as precious metals and rare-earth materials. “A robust electronics recycling industry in America would create new opportunities to efficiently and profitably address a growing pollution threat,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a statement. Along with the strategy’s unveiling, Dell, Sprint, and Sony made the first voluntary commitments to an EPA industry partnership that promotes environmentally friendly management of used electronics.