Updates to Washington, D.C.’s EPR Regulations
Residents of Washington, D.C. can now make use of R2-certified companies for electronics recycling, due to an update to its extended producer responsibility(EPR) program.
In March, Mayor Muriel Bowser made B24-1000, the Battery and Electronic Stewardship Amendment Act of 2022, law. The signing took place in January and the bill has since been implemented.
The legislation that was recently passed alters certain stipulations of Washington D.C.’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for electronics. This new bill now allows Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to opt to contract with R2-Certified or e-Stewards-Certified facilities to recycle covered electronics. In comparison, previously in late 2021, only e-Stewards-certified locations were accepted as part of D.C.’s eCYCLE Program.
Motivation for the Changes
In a Dec. 2nd release, the Basel Action Network (BAN), which administers the e-Stewards standard, quoted a district councilmember providing reasoning behind the original change which eliminated R2-Certified cites from Washington D.C’s EPR Program.
“Our local environmental advocates had long been calling for more stringent ethical standards in electronic recycling, which is why we seized the opportunity to require the use of Certified e-Stewards Processors,” Mary Cheh, chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee, in BAN’s press release stated. “It is because of their advocacy that our eCycling program will operate in a more meaningful way – as intended – that reduces the environmental and social harms that can accompany electronics recycling.”
Corey Dehmey serves as the executive director of Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI). This organization looks after the regulations and protocols for recycling and reusing electronics. He reported his excitement that R2-Certified sites would again be allowed to process electronics in Washington D.C.
“We are grateful that D.C. was willing to reconsider their decision and are pleased that all R2-Certified facilities will be available to serve the residents of Washington, D.C. for the responsible reuse and recycling of their electronics,” Dehmey stated. “To make electronics sustainable, we need to continue to expand options for every city, county, state and country around the world, and this decision keeps us on that path.”
CTA Gives Feedback During Committee Forum
During fall of 2022, the D.C. council developed the new legislation to address requests given by district regulators. B24-1000 was enacted and encompassed modifications such as furthering producers’ responsibility for public outreach and education. The October issue of E-Scrap News reported on the bill, though certifications were not included at that time.
Later, in October of 2023, the effects of the aforementioned decision made by the council in 2021 came under evaluation during a committee hearing. Ally Peck, Senior Manager of Environmental and Sustainability Policy at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), provided testimony regarding the banning of R2-Certified facilities, along with a formal letter written to the council.
The CTA is an organization that represents electronics brand owners, its input was considered highly valuable in assessing the repercussions caused by prohibiting R2-Certified vendors in 2021.
“This change caused a two-thirds reduction in the number of electronics recyclers manufacturers could work with in 2022 to meet their obligations under the law, increased the cost of collection and recycling and limited the ability of [registered organizations] to work with possible R2 certified permanent collection site partners,” she explained in a letter. “There are 25 states in the U.S. that have some type of electronics stewardship or takeback law in place; all allow R2 and eStewards certified recyclers or recyclers that meet comparable qualifications to operate in their programs.”
A Unanimous Approval
Eager to move forward, on Dec. 20th, members of the city council’s Committee on Transportation and Environment amended the bill so that R2-certified recycling companies would once again be allowed to service electronics. This decision was met with unanimous approval from all present, and was signed by Mayor Bowser on January 17th.
The committee further acknowledged that, “Recycling electronics not only prevents the landfilling or incineration of potentially hazardous materials, but reduces the environmental impacts, energy demands, and greenhouse gas effects that come from mining and manufacturing the valuable resources that electronic products are often include—precious metals, copper, and engineered plastics.”
