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Electronics Stewardship
Electronic waste is the common name for electronic equipment and products
that are broken, obsolete, discarded, or have reached the end of their
useful life. This includes televisions and monitors, computers and computer
accessories, audio and stereo equipment, VCRs, DVD players, video cameras,
telephones, fax and copying machines, cellular phones, wireless devices,
and video game consoles. The electronics waste stream is growing 2-3
times faster than any other waste stream, as new electronic products
are continually being produced to replace older technology.
Government agencies are now taking a closer look at the impacts of the
manufacture, use, and disposal of electronic goods on the environment
and human health. The following Federal campaigns are all aimed at encouraging
responsible electronics stewardship in order to increase the national
recycling rate and cut down on the generation of harmful chemicals.
- The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive's Federal Electronics
Stewardship Challenge - This program uses the buying power of the
Federal government to promote the purchase of environmentally preferable
electronic
products.
- The Plug-in to Recycling Campaign - The US EPA has recently launched
this campaign with electronics manufacturers and retailers, to encourage
people to reuse and recycle their unwanted electronics.
- The ENERGY STAR program – This program, also run by the US
EPA, encourages the manufacture and use of more energy efficient products.
The
America Recycles Day’s electronics recycling event
was celebrated at the Washington Monument in November 2002.
More that
60,000 pounds of electronics were collected by 100 volunteers from
the Federal government, DC government, public and private sector organizations,
and local citizens.
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