AeA Position || Recent Activities || Issues/Background

AeA Policy Position on Environment || Contact Information

AeA supports the responsible management of used electronic products in a manner that helps protect the environment and makes efficient use of public and private resources, using a shared responsibility model. 

High-Tech manufacturers should not be expected to assume sole responsibility or have the competency to establish a state-specific waste management system. This concept ignores the historic responsibility and core competency of the local government, as well as private waste and recycling companies. 

Deb Calevro, AeA; California Assemblymember Lloyd Levine; Denise Pearl, Symantec; Will Semmes, Department of General Services, California; and Dave Blevins, Symantec at the January 23 Green Government event in Sacramento (L-R).

Strategic Counsel, LLC is a full-service government relations and environmental policy consulting firm, located in Alexandria, Virginia, that provides members of the global electronics industry with advice, counsel, and consulting services that facilitate compliance with international, U.S. federal, and U.S. state product-related environmental requirements and fulfillment of voluntary market-based "green" design requirements.

As a result of this new partnership, AeA members will now have special members-only access to Strategic Counsel’s acclaimed monthly newsletter, Environmental Issues Update, which analyzes product-related environmental requirements of relevance to the electronics industry.

Environmental Issues Update

Concern about the ultimate disposal of used electronics equipment is growing worldwide.  Environmental fears surrounding electronic waste focus on the sheer volume of electronic equipment that is being discarded, as well as possible environmental damage from their components when they’re landfilled or incinerated.  Abroad, the EU has been extremely active, adopting two new directives that directly impact the ability of High-Tech to operate internationally; namely, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restrictions on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS) Directives.  Unfortunately, the way the EU has gone about implementing these directives – without the help of the impacted industries, or evidence of harm based in good science, for that fact – is a legislative model that satisfies some in search of a quick fix.

Luckily, concern over the impact of electronic waste on the environment is shared equally between the High-Tech industry that creates the products, the American consuming public, and each state legislature.  Because of this concern, High-Tech is taking the initiative to lessen the impact of E-waste on the environment.  From Design for Environment (DfE) and Product Stewardship programs to public education campaigns, High-Tech is working hard to lessen consumers’ impact on the environment while working with state legislatures to make an effective impact on the issue of E-waste, through good information, good science, and good practices.

For the past three years, AeA has been actively working at the state, federal, and international levels on environmental issues that surround the high-tech industry. Industry experts agree that this is the year when E-waste legislation will explode across the country. In fact, even though state legislatures have only been in session for less than two months, there are already 30 bills in 15 different states that AeA is actively tracking. 

AeA is currently monitoring the following E-waste issues in the states:

• Energy Efficiency, 
• Materials Restrictions, 
• Mandatory Labeling, and 
• Chemical Bans. 

AeA Member Impact
Many high-tech manufacturers have made significant investments in DfE over the past several years, in an effort to minimize the use of certain materials, as well as to allow for the ease of recycling of the electronic products.  Several companies have on-going company recycling programs or provide sponsorship and support to aid in the development of local recycling infrastructure.  The goal of these voluntary efforts is to assist in the development of sound, environmentally conscious, and cost-effective recycling infrastructure.  The High-Tech industry is committed to reducing the environmental impacts of our products throughout their lifecycle – from design, to use, to end-of-life – without having to do so via legislative imperative.

The concern, however is that state-specific legislation and mandates have the potential to place instate companies at a significant competitive disadvantage to their out-of-state counterparts.  Legislation that increases the cost of the product both through the direct placement of a fee on said products or through costly compliance procedures will need to be kept in check.

AeA Status/Outlook
The most fair and efficacious way to approach the electronic waste issue is at the federal level, rather than taking a state-by-state piecemeal approach, which would inherently disadvantage some companies over others.  However, it is important to recognize that some states may act in this area, as had California, with the passage of SB 20 & SB 50.  Efforts are afoot, however, to ensure that the standards we adopt here in the U.S. harmonize with those throughout the world, especially with the European Union.  AeA members at the state level should engage legislators on this issue and demonstrate the industry efforts currently underway to find market-based solutions that work.

This page was last updated on 05/12/08.  
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