Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Limit E-Waste Exports

Date: July 4, 2016

Source: News Room

A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers has introduced a bill to limit the export of electronic waste (e-waste) for reasons of national security and foreign policy concerns, after previous attempts to regulate it by amending environmental law failed to gain traction. The legislation, H.R. 5579, introduced on June 24 would control e-waste exports "to ensure that such waste does not become the source of counterfeit goods that may reenter military and civilian electronics supply chains in the United States, and for other purposes." The bill is sponsored by Reps. Paul Cook (R-CA) and Gene Green (D-TX) and has the backing of Coalition for American Electronics Recycling (CAER), a coalition of 130 companies that was formed in 2011. Rep. Cook said the legislation "will ensure we are not exporting electronic scrap materials that come back to us as counterfeit parts and undermine the reliability of technology essential to our national security." In the past, CAER sought to limit e-wasteexposure through legislation to amend the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act, but that effort was opposed by a scrap industry association.

To learn more about H.R. 5579, visit: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5579.

See also: "Group Sees E-waste Export as Threat to National Security," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20160621C.htm), June 21, 2016.

See also: "Companies Caught Exporting E-waste Instead of Recycling," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20160531D.htm), May 9, 2016.

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