EPA Seeking Comment on National Framework for Electronics Recycling

Date: March 7, 2011

Source: News Room

EPA and other agencies are seeking comment on how best to structure a national framework for recycling government electronics, the latest effort in a push for better end-of-life management of federal electronic waste (e-waste) that could eventually be used as a model for the private sector. In a Mar. 1 Federal Register notice, the Interagency Task Force on Electronics Stewardship, which includes EPA, calls for ways to encourage the creation of "greener electronics"; best practices for e-waste management; ways to increase electronics recycling and what infrastructure is needed; ways to track electronics prior to disposal; and the role of the private sector in the process. The task force, which is lead by EPA, the General Services Administration and the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is accepting comments until Mar. 11 and plans to release a national framework May 16 that will instruct federal agencies on stewardship goals. The government has come under increasing pressure for its electronics disposal practices amid information security concerns and because some e-waste is being exported to developing countries where it is causing environmental harm.

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