By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

March 24, 2016 04:47:01 AM

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The states with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for electronics does not have much higher awareness of recycling options when compared with non-EPR states. This is in accordance with the results of the survey conducted by Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (ERCC) in 12 states-six states with the legislation in place and another six states with no EPR laws.

According to the survey, 70.8% of residents in EPR-law states were aware about where to recycle unwanted electronics. The states without legislation closely followed with 67.9% of the respondents saying that they are well aware about the places to recycle old electronics. Respondents from EPR-law states gave a score of 4.4 on a 1-5 scale, when asked about how important they feel to recycle devices that they no longer need. The score from non-EPR states stood at 4.3.

Also, irrespective of whether belonging to EPR-law state or not, survey participants noted that lack of awareness about recycling centers and inconvenient location of such facilities tend to curtail the progress of e-waste recycling in the country.

The survey was conducted by Service 800 on behalf of ERCC in twelve states during the period between September 2014 and July 2015. The survey, via web and phone, was funded by various state authorities, electronics manufacturers, recycling companies and other stakeholders. The six EPR-law states included in the survey were Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Texas. The states with no EPR-laws in place included in the survey were Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee and Wyoming.

The ERCC is a forum for coordination and information exchange among the state/local agencies that are implementing electronics recycling laws and all impacted stakeholders. The ERCC is administered by Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), based in Brattleboro, Vermont, and managed by the National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER), based in Parkersburg, WV.