Globally, an estimated $52 billion in recoverable electronics waste is sent to landfills each year, where it can contaminate the environment with toxic metals like lead and cadmium. Less than 40% is collected for recycling, but most components are recyclable.

How can we recycle more electronics and protect the environment? Extended producer responsibility. In 2001, PSI initiated a national discussion on e-scrap management, which sparked an EPA-hosted dialogue; three years later, with Staples and the EPA, we piloted the first voluntary retail-based computer recycling program in the country, which is now a standard for most electronics retailers.

In 2004, Maine used our model to enact the first electronics EPR law in the country. In total, 23 states and the District of Columbia have enacted electronics EPR laws, and two additional states enacted electronics recycling laws that are not EPR, as a result of the national dialogue on electronics that was sparked by PSI’s work.

But these were some of the first EPR Laws in the U.S., and many require updates. Today, we work with stakeholders to ensure that both existing and emerging programs for electronics recycling provide convenient collection services and that program costs are internalized and covered in full by manufacturers.

EPR programs like these incentivize the production of more sustainable products and build supply chains for those made with recycled materials, which are the building blocks of an emerging circular economy that protects our environment and builds a better future.

What can you do? If your state has not yet enacted a law, tell your representatives that you support electronics EPR legislation. Then, learn where to recycle or safely dispose of electronics in your community.

If you’re a PSI Member or Partner, search our Resource Library for in-depth information on electronics stewardship in the United States and around the world and our Legislation Library for a detailed history of electronics EPR bills and laws in the U.S.