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Electronics and the Environment
Recycling Summit
May 11, 2000
Collaboration Meeting Summary
July 21, 2000
I. Introduction
A) Summit Meeting
The first electronics and the Environment Recycling Summit was held in San Francisco, CA, on May 10-11, 2000, for all stakeholders and interested parties related to the issues and opportunities involved in the recycling of electronics products.
Chaired by Diana Bendz, IBM Director of Environmentally Conscious Products, the event provided a unique opportunity for attendees to participate in multiple high caliber meetings and events focused on the challenges of building an efficient and effective infrastructure. In addition, the meetings fostered collaboration among the industry, government, and academic sectors toward common goals.
Participating were the following leading industry organizations, whose representatives presented status and recommendations to those attending the Summit:
- Overview/Kickoff - Diana Bendz
- International Association of Electronics Recyclers (IAER) - Peter Muscanelli
- IEEE - Electronics and the Environment Committee - Diana Bendz
- Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) - Environmental Issues Council - Holly Evans
- American Plastics Council (APC) - Tony Kingsbury
- Ecolibrium - Greg Pitts
- Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) - John Lott
- National Safety Council (NSC) - Candace Levitt
- National Recycling Coalition (NRC) - Will Ferretti
- DEER2 - Glenn Kuntz
- The Oak Ridge National Recycle Center - Ellen Jessop
B) Follow-on Collaboration Meeting
On May 11, 2000, a follow-on meeting to the Summit was conducted to promote discussion, collaboration, status reports, recommendations and action items related to the Summit's purpose of building an efficient and effective recycling infrastructure.
Follow-on Meeting Discussion Items
| "Building The Infrastructure" |
| Category |
A. Communications
- Technical meetings/workshops
- Education/communication
- Publications/websites/compendium
|
B. Recycler Support Tools and Services
- Recycler certification
- Tool development
- Standards activities
- Market development
- Stakeholder meetings
|
C) Reuse and Recycling Pilot Projects, and Demonstration Projects
- Demonstration projects
- Operations in progress
|
D. Regulatory Interaction
- Advocacy / working with EPA
- Federal agency coordination
- Regulatory relief
|
| E. Research |
| F. Measurements |
II) Collaboration Meeting Summary
A) Communications
Industry problems:
- Existing recycling infrastructure is poorly documented and unknown to many owners of electrical and electronic equipment attempting to recycle old equipment.
- Information on design practices to facilitate recycling and reuse is not effectively collected and communicated to product designers. Reuse and recycling benefits of improved product designs are not quantified and made available to product designers for consideration making design choices.
Resources identified:
1) Recycling / Design For the Environment (DFE)
The ISEE is the IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment. It is a forum sponsored once a year by the IEEE Computer Society, bringing together environmental and business professionals, design and manufacturing engineers, researchers, and policy makers who are interested in advancing the environmental contributions of their companies and institutions.
The Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA) is a US-based trade association that represents more than 2100 member companies. The Environmental Issues Council (EIC) has approximately 400 members, multiple subcommittees with the Design for Environment subcommittee focusing on end-of-life issues. The committee is working to develop economically feasible end-of-life solutions.
The Association Connecting Electronics Industries (IPC) is an association comprising Printed Wiring Board Manufacturers, Assemblers & Suppliers from large to small shops. The organization develops a roadmap which forecasts the needs of US printed circuit boards (PCB) in the area of design, materials, manufacturing and assembly with a focus on the environment, both now and in the future.
The American Plastics Council (APC) works to ensure plastics are a preferred material by actively demonstrating they are a responsible choice in a more environmentally conscious world. It is major trade association for the U.S. Plastics Industry comprising 24 of the leading plastics manufacturers in the United States, with many members having a strong global market presence.
The environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a US government agency that works with industry environmental research and to create standards to protect natural resources and human health. Some areas of focus include work on environmental management, compliance, cleanup, and prevention, including recycling, conservation, waste treatment and reduction.
The National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) objective is to facilitate long-term North American leadership in electronics. The consortium is made up of electronics equipment manufacturers, suppliers, associations, government agencies and universities. The goal of NEMI is to help identify infrastructure weaknesses and set priorities for future industry needs and design initiatives. The consortium developments a roadmap to identify the key technology and infrastructure developments required to ensure the competitiveness of North American electronics companies over the next decade.
The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) is a professional society for members of the plastics industry which promote education and applications relative to plastics and polymers. The SPE holds and annual recycling conference, the last held in Nov. 1999 at Dearborn, MI. A wide range of associated topics are presented each year including "Thermal Processes for Recycling: Broad Aspects and the Other Durables", "Recycling Technologies: Sorting and Physical Separation Technologies" and "Conversion and Extraction Technologies."
identiPlast is a global plastics recycling conference in Brussels sponsored by the Association of Plastics manufacturers in Europe (APME), the American Plastics Council (APC), the Plastics Waste Management Institute of Japan (PWMI) and the European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC). Many countries participate to address the various issues connected with plastics recycling. The scope of the conference is intended to address not only the practical aspects of automatic identification and sorting plastics from different waste streams, but also the broader issues of separation technologies.
The objective of Demanufacturing of Electronic Equipment for Reuse and Recycling (DEER2) is to integrate disposition consideration into the design of electronic equipment for environmentally friendly disposal and life cycle management. The organization works with OEM's, recyclers, refurbishers, regulatory agencies, and suppliers to establish, demonstrate, and validate processes for the cost-effective demanufacturing of electronic equipment.
Life Cycle Assessment / Procurement / Supply Chain
The Gordon Institute initiated a Stakeholder Dialogue process in the Spring of 1999 to bring together the plastics supply chain to discuss barriers and opportunities in the recycling and reuse of engineering thermoplastics derived from used electronic equipment. The goal of the Dialogue process is to stimulate cooperation and develop collaborative industry strategies to collect and process the growing volume of discarded plastics from electronics, and utilize these recycled materials in new markets and applications. Dialogues include active participation of the diverse stakeholders in the supply chain, including resin suppliers, equipment manufacturers, electronics recyclers, plastics recyclers, molders, government organizations, industry associations and other experts. Four Dialogues have been held to date, and additional Dialogues are planned through 2001. A strategic action plan is under development, focusing on three critical issues: material characterization and development, feasibility assessment of regional processing of plastics, and market development.
General education
The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) is an organization committed to the advancement and improvement of recycling, source reduction, composting and reuse in order to conserve resources and benefit the environment. The NRC has approximated 6,500 members from government, nonprofit organizations, small businesses to large corporations. The NRC provides information and technical support to the recycling community. The NRC has started a project named "Electronics Recycling Initiative" and a link to information on this project and other NRC activities can be obtained by visiting the NRC-Recycle website listed above.
The International Association of Electronics Recyclers organization has put on their website a very good summary of the overall Summit Events. It is probably worth the time to explore and read each of the URL's listed above.
Global Futures Foundation, an innovative environmental non-profit devoted to integrating the interests of business and environment, sponsors practical publications, workshops and roundtables on topics like pollution prevention, industrial ecology, resource productivity, market-based environmental laws, ISO 14000, and The Natural Step. GFF manages The Future 500, a network of business leaders for advanced resource productivity. Information on past and present Industrial Ecology conferences can be found at the url above.
General
Comprehensive Approach to Recycling of Electronics (CARE) "Vision 2000" is an international and environmental R&D network driven by the electronics industry based in Europe. The goal of the organization is to provide an environmental research platform with the emphasis on developing products, sharing environmental responsibility and protecting limited natural resources.
ECODesign is an International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing being held in Toyko, Japan. The symposium has been planned to create new concepts of design and manufacturing through integration of knowledge achieved by efforts being conducted in different fields and sectors.
Recycling infrastructure
The National Safety Council's Environmental Health Center (EHC), based in Washington, DC, is a leading provider of credible and timely information and community-based programs on environmental and public health issues. The EHC manages the Electronic Product Recovery and Recycling (EPR2) roundtable and published the "Electronic Product Recovery and Recycling Baseline Report." The EPR2 has been a multi-stakeholder endeavor and expectations are that it will continue to be.
The annual NRC Congress & Exposition focuses on Program Design and Economics; Material Markets and Issues: Buy Recycled Program Design and Implementation; Public Outreach and Education; Commercial and Institutional Recycling; Source Reduction. The congress provides educational and networking opportunities for people involved with recycling organizations.
The International Association of Electronics Recyclers (IAER) is the first and only trade association for the electronics recycling industry. The IAER was formed to represent and serve the interests of that industry as a key element in the development of an effective and efficient infrastructure for managing the life cycle of electronics products. The membership of the IAER is comprised on companies from all segments of the electronics recycling industry as well as OEMs, Not-For-Profit organizations, and Service Providers.
Regional coordination
The Northeast Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA) is a nonprofit interstate association whose mission is to is to help states articulate, promote and implement economically sound regional programs for the enhancement of environmental protection. NEWMOA fulfills its mission by providing support services to its member states in the solid waste, hazardous waste, waste site cleanup and pollution prevention (P2) programs. These services are designed to facilitate communication and cooperation among member states and between states and EPA and to enable the sharing of state and federal program resources in order to enhance state capabilities.
2) Education / communication
Monthly electronic Newsletter at: http:www.iaer.org/communications/index.html
- National Recycling Coalition
Electronics Recycling Initiative - Links on the World Wide Web
National Recycling Coalition Listserv http://www.nrc-recycle.org
Outreach to public / coordination
Reference above.
Reference above
Reference above
IPC Recycle Directory http://www.ipc.org/html/fslegislative.htm
(specifically for materials used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards)
Reference above
Mission: "Advancing the practice of environmentally and economically sound management of municipal solid waste in North America.
- North American Hazardous Materials Management Association (NAHMMA)
http://www.nahmma.org
Mission: "A non-profit, membership-based association of individuals, businesses, government officials, and non-profit organizations dedicated to pollution prevention and reducing the hazardous components entering municipal waste streams from households, small businesses and other entities. municipal waste streams."
3) Publications / websites / compendium
State and local legislative tracking (end of life)
- Proposed legislation Publications by Raymond Communications http://www.raymond.com/publst1.htm provide reports on international and state recycling laws as well as links to legislative web sites for U.S. jurisdictions. A calendar of events on the Raymond Communications homepage lists many recycling meetings around the world.
- Partnerships / studies
Solutions
- National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
(Paul Chalmers; 313-995-4911; through NRC, http://www.NRC-recycle.org )
Information infrastructure / e-commerce platform
Issues raised in collaboration meeting needing more details:
Outreach to public / coordination
IAER has 4 Affiliate Publishers that are involved in this field:
State Recycling Laws Update
Recycling Laws International
Business and the Environment
Input from EPA / State of Minn. / Electronics Recycling Initiative Task Force
B) Recycler Support -- Tools and Services
Industry problems:
- Lack of consistent information available to product recycling organizations on materials content of products being recycled.
- Inconsistent generation of some recycled commodities impedes development of consistent markets for these commodities.
- Capacity and location planning difficult due to lack of good information of quantities and types of waste electronics available by region.
Resources identified:
1) Recycler Certification
- IAER Certification Program http://www.iaer.org/communications/certification.htm
- Provides a service to member companies to help them improve their management systems and gain recognition as high quality electronics recyclers.
- Recognizes companies as a "Certified Electronics Recycler" if they are found to meet IAER certification criteria as a result of the formal, objective certification process.
- Third party certification / low cost certification / collaboration with EPA
2) Tool Development Reports
- EPR2 Baseline Report: Recycling of Selected Electronic Products in the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Safety Council. For copies call Candace Levitt at (202) 974-2476.
Databases: Under development
- Collecting base line information (Calif. EPA; CIWMB) CIWMB / Calmax, http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/calmax
- NRC / IAER reuse/recycle database http://www.nrc-recycle.org/programs/electronics/database.htm provides access to a national database of electronics recyclers, reuse organizations and municipal programs for electronics recycling. The site also contains links to non-profit and charitable organizations for donation of computers for reuse. The information is developed collaboratively by the National Recycling Coalition and the International Association of Electronics Recyclers
- A group of organizations (IAER, NRC, EIA, ISRI, IPMI, and EPA) have agreed to share information and avoid duplication in relation to databases on electronics recycling. Each organization is focusing on its constituency. For example, it was agreed that the IAER would be the source of information on electronics recyclers and the NRC would be the source for public sector and NGO organizations involved in electronics recycling.
Databases: Existing
The state of NC 's Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance will sponsor workshops this fall to educate the public and private sector on establishing collection and recycling programs for computers and other electronic equipment.
Supply chain communication
EIA initiative to harmonize hazardous materials content identification (EIA contact Holly Evans, hollye@eia.org )
For details, see Tufts section above
- NRC compendium on procurement, and NRC business financing
Needed: foster cooperation between gover., industry and universities
For details, see NRC section above
"Helping Northern California communities create jobs in the recycling, reuse and remanufacturing industries."
No details were available at the collaboration meeting.
Issues raised in collaboration meeting needing more details:
- Needed on commodities, breakdown of materials, characterization. Ex: What in the waste stream fits the definition of hazardous waste? No data base identified that meets these categories.
- "Earth911"
- Buy Recycled Business Alliance
Standards Activities
- Link to certification process
- Who should coordinate standards? (IAER)
- Focus on:
Categories/ commodities
Design for disassembly
Specifications for recycling
C) Reuse and Recycling Pilot Projects, and Demonstration Projects
Industry problems:
- Small scale recycling pilots conducted over short durations in municipalities demonstrate demand for product recycling services, but do not adequately assess wide range of collection, transportation, and processing options, including costs and environmental benefits.
- Development of new recycling technologies is hampered by lack of funding for equipment development, inconsistent supplies of materials to be recycled, and inconsistent markets for recycled commodities
- Recycling options for many materials can not compete with financially with lower cost incineration or landfill options.
Resources identified:
1. Demonstration Projects
EPA Report: EPA-901-R-98-002, "Residential Collection of Household End-of-Life Electrical and Electronic Equipment Pilot Collection Project," February 1998. This report documents experiences with four collection events in Binghamton, NY, and Somerville, MA, for residential electrical and electronic equipment sponsored by the Common Sense Initiative Program's Computer and Electronics Sector.
EPA Report: EPA-901-R-98-003, "Analysis of Five Community Consumer/Residential Collections: End-Of-Life Electronic and Electrical Equipment," April 1999. This report aggregates and analyzes existing data from five EPR2 programs. Collection programs studied range from one-day collection events to permanent collection depots and include locations in San Jose, CA; Union County, NJ; Hennepin County, MN; Napervielle/Wheaton, IL and Somerville, MA / Binghamton, NY.
State of Minn. Http://www.moea.state.mn.us/plugin/index.cfm
- This site details the pilot collections of waste electronic and electrical products which were held throughout Minnesota in 1999. Also see http://www.moea.state.mn.us/plugin/links.cfm This site has numerous links to federal and other states' studies, regulations and pilot recycling activities for electronic products.
San Francisco and Alameda County http://www.materials4future.org
- The Materials for the Future Foundation (MFF) is working with San Francisco Bay Area community-based organizations (CBOs) and businesses to implement an Electronic Collection and Recycling Pilot Project. The Electronic Collection and Recycling Pilot Project is sponsored by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Recycling Board and the City and County of San Francisco Recycling Program. The purpose of the Pilot Project is to document the quantity of consumer electronic products that flow into the residential waste stream and determine if the recovered electronic products can be recycled cost effectively.
Seattle/King Co.
- The Computer Recovery Project in King County, Washington begins in June 2000. For details see http://dnr.metrokc.gov/greenworks/rec_assist/CRP2.htm
San Jose / Fry's electronics http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/1998/11/111998/comrcl.asp
- [Links to San Jose Computer Collection and Recycling Pilot: Final Report]
NRC communications of results and practices
2. Operations in Progress
Massachusetts CRT Landfill Ban http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/dep/recycle/crt/crtmungi.doc
- Massachusetts has developed a Municipal Guidance Document for Recycling Cathode Ray Tubes and Other Electronics. The document provides details on CRT collection processes and the collection contract used by the state.
Issues raised in collaboration meeting needing more details:
PAZ / DOE
- Demanufacturing center prototype; glass; metallics; site identified
- Focus on plastics market development
Motorola/Northwest Sub. Municipal Waste/SSI
D) Regulatory Interaction
Industry problem:
- Regulatory requirements controlling collection, transport, and recycling of discarded electronic products add costs to recycling process and impede development of cost effective recycling solutions.
- No voluntary recycling industry certification programs exist which provide governments and those disposing of equipment with adequate assurance that products are being disposed in an environmentally responsible manner, and in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
- Exemption of household consumers from most waste disposal requirements eliminates incentives for consumers to participate, both physically and financially, in recycling of used electronic products.
- Need for increased municipality involvement in establishing cost effective collection processes for electronic products from households, building upon existing waste collection infrastructure.
Resources identified:
1) Advocacy / working with EPA
EIA/IAER/IEEE
Computer & Electronics Equipment Recycling & Management Workshop
- August 7-8, 2000; Atlanta, Georgia. Brings industry and government representatives together to discuss the development of shared responsibility framework, policies, markets and programs for end-of-life management of electronic equipment and to discuss the current and planned activities of all states making up EPA Region IV. Information, Gene Jones 800-441-7949
2) Regulatory Relief
EIA, IAER, NRC
- To coordinate with regional and state activities and EPA to raise appropriate issues
- Leading states will propose with industry and NGOS / EPA
- NEWMOA - 1st step
- Joint proposal to EPA
3) Certification
See "Recycler Support -- Tools and Services" above
Issues raised in collaboration meeting needing more details:
Federal Agency Coordination
- Event in the Fall (DOD, DOE, EPA) for government agencies only.
Discussion at ECOS
CSI proposal (due in Fall)
E) Research
Industry problem:
- Lack of good information regarding environmental impacts of disposal alternatives for various materials found in electronic products.
- Need for automated and more cost effective materials separation processes for commodity materials in electronic products.
- Need for life cycle environmental impact assessments, risks assessments, and cost analysis for potential substitution of hazardous materials found in electronic products
Resources identified:
September 10-15, 2000; Berlin, Germany. CARE Electronics, within the Eureka umbrella, is the largest environmental research platform of the European electronics industry. CARE Innovation is the periodic international meeting of CARE Electronics.
For details, see IAER section above
F) Measurements
Industry problems:
- Lack of standard performance assessment methodologies and metrics for recyclers to enable easy comparison and assessment of improvements.
- No adequate process for collection of information on existing recycling and disposal processes for electronic equipment.
- No standard methodologies for quantifying and measuring improvements in product designs to facilitate reuse and recycling
Resources identified:
[The following was presented by Ted Smith at the collaboration meeting as an example of a potential measurement structure]
Principles of Extended Producer Responsibility
From the Electronic Responsibility Initiatives Task Force
Zero Waste Principle
Set a goal of zero waste of electronic products going to landfills or burning by 2006
Polluter Pays Principle
Internalize "end of life" management cost into the cost of producing products
Design for the Environment
Producers must accept environmental and health responsibilities proportional to technical innovation goals; and phase out persistent, bioaccumulative toxics from their products
Infrastructure Development
Develop greater infrastructure for reuse, recovery and recycling; work with local and state government to develop and demonstrate best practices; encourage investment in US re-use, recovery and recycling processing systems
Ban Waste Trade
Prohibit shipping hazardous materials overseas that violate the Basel Convention
Implement Improved Environmental, Health and Safety Practices
Develop improved worker health and safety and environmental protection standards for vendors throughout the product chain in the US as well as in facilities overseas
Close the Loop
Incorporate recovered materials into new products. Develop closed materials cycles
Green Procurement
Develop "green procurement" strategies and environmentally preferable purchasing programs within government and throughout the entire product chain.
III. Conclusion
By Diana Bendz
SUMMIT Chair &
IBM Director of Environmentally Conscious Products
Many items of concern and activity were discussed at the summit. Some action items were generated and are being addressed. To continue this effort, the following are in place:
1. Please comment or add information via this website.
Click here to send an email message to the SUMMIT Team
2. Communications among interested parties should occur again with information recorded on the website.
3. A SUMMIT event is being planned by the IAER for 2001 that will address progress and identify new or continued courses of action to support the industry infrastructure.
Watch this web site for more details
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