There is a push in many communities to promote the integration of environmental costs associated with products through their life cycle into the price of the product. This is a really simple solution to the true cost of a product. Every product no matter how well built has a life span and more and more frequently these days that life span is becoming shorter and shorter. The simple fact is that manufacturers want consumers to keep buying so they build-in obsolescence. What is built-in obsolescence? This is the planning or design of a product with a limited useful life. The product will become obsolete, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time. The planning of this obsolescence is beneficial to the manufacturer because we have to keep buying new replacement products. Also as technology advances better products are always appearing and we are replacing the old with the new and better.
Case in point: The products we are seeing at Sedona Recycles with increasing regularity are cathode ray tube televisions and monitors. These televisions and monitors are the precursors of the flat screen. Everyone wants a flat screen and why not they have a great picture, take up less space and are becoming increasing less expensive everyday. But what happens to all those old televisions and monitors that this built-in obsolescence has dumped into the waste stream? In most cases they end up at Sedona Recycles where we palletize and ship them to recycling facilities that specialize in electronics recycling. These televisions and monitors are the most difficult electronics to recycle for a number of reasons but primarily it is the aforementioned cathode ray tube (CRT). This technology was the mainstay for decades but this has become obsolete. CRT’s also present health hazards because they emit small levels of X-ray radiation. But there are other problems CRT’s contain toxic substances such as cadmium and phosphors and the rear glass tube and screen contain lead in some cases up to 8 pounds. This lead represents an environmental hazard if disposed of improperly. In 2001 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created rules stating that CRT’s must be brought to special recycling facilities. In November 2002 the EPA began fining companies that disposed of CRT’s through landfills and incineration. The EPA includes discarded CRT monitors in its category of hazardous household waste.
This is where extended producer responsibility comes in. Extended producer responsibility may take the form of reuse, buy-back or recycling programs but it should be the responsibility of the producer of the product to see that one of these options is carried out. There are now 25 states that have laws regarding this end of product life. Arizona is unfortunately not one of them and as a result those of us that feel it is important to see these products recycled carry the burden for their end of life care. This is a very costly problem for recyclers who want to see the right thing done and give these products a second home or a second life. We strongly feel that the producers of the products need to contribute financially to this process and we are hoping with combined efforts of local non-profits to press the state government to enact laws that place this responsibility where it belongs in the hands of the producers. We are willing to do the collection and the recycling but the producers of these products need to understand that they have a duty to see that their product does not end up in our local landfill or worse yet on the shores of another country where proper handling regulations are non-existent. We need to realize that our actions in regards to these products have far reaching effects just like the producers of these products need to acknowledge their responsibility in seeing them properly recycled.
When the price of recycling is factored into the price of the product everyone wins. Yes it is a little more expensive with the original purchase but the consumer can rest assured that their television or monitor will not poison the environment or the people somewhere else outside the United States that are trying to extract the precious materials inside. Our goal in all of this is to encourage companies to design products for reuse, recyclability and material reduction. We want to see the cost of waste management factored into the cost of the products produced. We would like to see continued innovation in recycling technology to handle all of the emerging electronic products with their built-in obsolescence. We want to see products designed for easier recycling and reuse. Extended producer responsibility helps to address the growing problem of e-waste. Many governments have partnered with corporations to create necessary collection and recycling infrastructure. Most of this occurs at the state level and only happens when the state is pressed to make it happen. Only when producers either face a financial or physical burden of recycling their electronics after use will they be incentivized to design more sustainable, less toxic, easily recyclable electronics. Using fewer materials and designing products to last longer can directly reduce producer’s end-of life costs. This then is a win-win for all involved. Better products, safer for the environment with the cost of recycling factored in.