NY State Law Will Mandate Commercial “e-recycling” by Jan 1, 2012

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A new state law seeking to make efficient use of electronics destined to be thrown out will take effect on January 1, 2012. This latest New York state green law, called the Department of Environmental Conservation: Electronic Equipment Reuse and Recycling Act, will require commercial business to “e-recycle” or face steep fines, according to Crain’s New York Business. 

Given the geographic density of NYC’s commercial business, the volume of electronics that will need recycling is already high, according to Stephen Leone, president of Brooklyn e-recycling handler eRecycleNY. Leone, told Crain’s that he expects the volume to explode in the near future due to the migration of business computing environments to “the cloud”—off-site, Internet-based storage.

Officials at the EPA warn that toxins found in electronic items, including lead and mercury, can pose risks to human health or the environment at the end of their lives if not properly managed. According to Suzanne Rudzinski, director of the EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, more than 140 million mobile devices nationwide were ready for recycling, but only 8% were recycled; 38% of the 47.4 million computers at the end of their lives were recycled in 2009.

To combat this inefficiency, companies will have three options for the discarding of e-waste, Crain’s NY Business notes: giving it to a building management company, which will make arrangements to take the electronics away; calling a private garbage removal company; or contacting a company like eRecycleNY.

Crain’s New York Business