When we think of recycling, putting out a bin of glass, metal, plastic and cardboard waste items for pickup by a municipal or commercial recycling service is often what comes to mind for the average person in New York State. However, not all commonly used consumer products can be mixed in with regular household recycling, and must be taken to a designated collection site, sent back to the manufacturer, or dealt with another way to ensure recycling. One such example includes electronic waste, also known as "e-waste", including items such as computers, tablets, cell phones, printers, flat screen displays, video game consoles and accompanying accessories. Even though recycling options do exist, e-waste items frequently end up in the landfill. This is because citizens and businesses may be uninformed of recycling options, or they lack the time or motivation to take extra steps to find such information.
This guide provides information on the recent proliferation of e-waste in the US and worldwide, details the environmental and health problems posed by improper e-waste management (such as disposal and incineration) and addresses the environmental, economic and health benefits of e-waste recycling. It also provides an overview on laws and regulations relevant to e-waste recycling in New York State, along with resources for consumers on options for recycling electronic waste items. It is intended to be used by members of the general public who have an interest in protecting the environment and recycling and those who want to learn more about the negative impacts of improper e-waste disposal.
E-waste is defined as: discarded electronic appliances such as phones, computers, and televisions.
Britannica Academic Encyclopedia
E-waste is defined as various forms of electric and electronic equipment that have ceased to be of value to their users or no longer satisfy their original purpose. Electronic waste (e-waste) products have exhausted their utility value through either redundancy, replacement, or breakage and include both “white goods” such as refrigerators, washing machines, and microwaves and “brown goods” such as televisions, radios, computers, and cell phones.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
“E-waste”, “electronic waste”, “e-scrap” and “end-of-life electronics” are terms often used to describe used electronics that are nearing the end of their useful life, and are discarded, donated or given to a recycler. Though “e-waste” is the commonly used term, EPA considers e-waste to be a subset of used electronics and recognizes the inherent value of these materials that can be reused, refurbished or recycled to minimize the actual waste that might end up in a landfill or improperly disposed in an unprotected dump site either in the US or abroad.
New York State Environmental Conservation Law
"Electronic waste" means covered electronic equipment that has been discarded or is no longer wanted by its owner, or for any other reason enters the waste collection, recovery, treatment, processing, or recycling system. "Covered electronic equipment" means: a computer; computer peripheral; small electronic equipment; small-scale server; cathode ray tube; or television, as defined in this section. "Covered electronic equipment" does not include any motor vehicle or any part thereof; camera or video camera; portable or stationary radio; household appliances such as clothes washers, clothes dryers, refrigerators, freezers, microwave ovens, ovens, ranges or dishwashers; equipment that is functionally or physically part of a larger piece of equipment intended for use in an industrial, research and development or commercial setting; security or anti-terrorism equipment; monitoring and control instrument or system; thermostat; hand-held transceiver; telephone of any type; portable digital assistant or similar device; calculator; global positioning system (GPS) receiver or similar navigation device; a server other than a small-scale server; a cash register or retail self-checkout system; a stand-alone storage product intended for use in industrial, research and development or commercial settings; commercial medical equipment that contains within it a cathode ray tube, a flat panel display or similar video display device, and is not separate from the larger piece of equipment; or other medical devices as that term is defined under the Federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act.