The Michigan Electronic Waste Stakeholders Work Group final recommendation was submitted to the MDEQ Director in May 2006.   The Department appreciates the time and effort made by this dedicated group.    Links to background information about the Work Group, initial recommendations and the final recommendation are listed below.

Subsequent to the recommendations the Work Group developed, the DEQ was given an opportunity to participate in the Midwest Regional Electronic Waste Policy Initiative.   Links to the Midwest Policy website and the Northeast Recycling Coalition/Council of State Governments, Eastern Regional Conference, model legislation from which the Midwest  policy initiative evolved, are listed below.

Michigan Electronic Waste Stakeholder Work Group Documents

• Background
• Initial Recommendations, July 2004
  • Michigan Department of Information Technology Equipment Life Cycle
• Final Recommendation, May 2006

Midwest Waste Electronics Policy Initiative Documents

• Northeast Regional Electronics Management Project, April 2006
• Midwest Regional Electronic Waste Policy Initiative, May 2006

Background 

In March 2003, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Director, Steven Chester, convened an electronic waste stakeholder group and asked them to develop recommendations for a state-wide system to recycle electronic waste that was currently being legally disposed in Michigan.   (Electronic waste includes computers and televisions that are no longer wanted or no longer work.) Disposal bans for electronic waste had been introduced by the Michigan Legislature since 2002.   In anticipation of this legislation passing, the Director was interested in knowing what stakeholders could support to recycle this waste when it could no longer be disposed.

Stakeholders consisted of representatives from federal, state and local government; representatives from waste, retail and manufacturing industry associations, representatives from environmental groups and large generators of electronic waste in Michigan; representatives from the recycling industry and regional electronics programs that had formed to develop plans for managing electronic waste on the east and west sides of Michigan.   As discussions progressed, other interested parties joined the Work Group.

An initial set of recommendations was developed in July of 2004.   Included were recommendations to improve outreach to the regulated community, change state government purchasing practices to lead by example, maintain and develop resources to help communities and generators find recyclers and to help residents find collection programs for their electronic waste.   Rules were promulgated by the DEQ in December 2004 allowing Michigan generators  to manage most of their consumer electronics as universal waste thus facilitating recycling.   (Cathode ray tubes, the major component of traditional televisions and computer monitors were defined by DEQ as electric lamps in 1998, thus allowing them to be handled as universal waste.   In 2002, the DEQ provided a solid waste exemption for community collection programs and recyclers allowing them to more easily collect residential electronics for recycling if they notified the Department of their collection efforts.)    Other recommendations are being considered for implementation as state resources become available.

Work Group discussions ended in mid-2005 with a final recommendation to obtain funding that would support a state-wide recycling infrastructure.    Two distinct methods for supporting this infrastructure had been discussed by Work Group members.   One was to charge a fee at point of sale to fund the collection, transportation and recycling of specific electronic products, often known as an advanced recycling or recovery fee (ARF).   The other would require manufacturers to be responsible for recycling electronic equipment with specific roles assigned to retailers, governments, recyclers and other stakeholders.   Although the group did not reach consensus, the ARF model was supported by the majority of the Work Group.

DEQ staff have been involved in regional discussions involving several Midwest states since mid-2005.   This effort, called the Midwest Regional Electronic Waste Recycling Policy Initiative, produced a policy statement involving a manufacturer responsibility model to be adopted on a multi-state basis.   Model legislation mirroring this policy was produced in the northeast region of the country and is being introduced in several state legislatures.   The result is that there is potential for a regional rather than state-by-state approach for managing electronic waste.   The Michigan Work Group overwhelmingly supported a national approach to managing electronic waste but understood that despite efforts to develop a national system, none was going to be adopted in the near future.

Several states, feeling electronic waste is a pressing issue, have passed legislation that adopts either an advanced recycling fee collected at point of sale (California) or variations on a manufacturer responsibility model (Maine, Maryland, and Washington).   Both models appear workable but each has its challenges.    It is clear that whichever model is adopted, implementing it on a regional basis and moving toward one national approach should be the highest priority.   Michigan DEQ continues to work toward this goal.