Tech firms object to Calif. e-waste bill

MSNBC http://famulus.msnbc.com/famuluscom/bizjournal07-14-010259.asp

By Timothy Roberts
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

July 14, 2003 — Legislation requiring the proper disposal of computer monitors and television screens is making its way through the California Assembly over the objections of a number of tech companies with ties to Silicon Valley.

IBM Corp., Sony Corp., Royal Philips Electronics, the American Electronics Association and the California Chamber of Commerce spoke out against the bill July 7 when it came before the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. The committee members later voted 7-3 to approve the measure, which was written by State Sen. Byron Sher, a Palo Alto Democrat. The bill passed the Senate on June 4.
        At the same hearing, a Hewlett-Packard Co. lobbyist told the committee that the giant computer maker in Palo Alto had serious reservations about the bill. Among HP's complaints are its worries that the program is too large to be implemented all at once.
        "The state should walk before it runs," said Ann Kelly, the HP lobbyist. "It should begin with household waste."
        Sony warns that it could put its San Diego picture tube plant out of business. IBM Corp. says the legislation gives a competitive advantage to newer companies that don't have a legacy of waste to dispose of. The California Chamber of Commerce warns that the bill would create "a lot of bureaucracy."
        In response, Mr. Sher has offered amendments to the bill that would require only 50 percent of 'e-waste' be recycled or properly disposed of during the first year, which he's moved from 2004 to 2005. The amendments would allow the California Waste Board to set the targets for future years, based on what looks realistic. Mr. Sher is giving companies the ability to choose between doing the recycling themselves or to pay a fee to have a public agency do it for them.
        "We're trying to give as much flexibility to the regulated companies as we can," he told the Natural Resources Committee.
California would be the first state in the nation to require computer and electronics manufacturers to take responsibility for the disposal of their computers and TVs, which the state has deemed hazardous because they contain lead, among other things.
        Proponents argue that the lead can cause poisoning, particularly in children, and if computers and television sets are placed in landfills, the lead can leak into the ground, contaminating drinking water.
        Specifically, computer and TV makers would have to certify that they have a plan in place to recycle or dispose of every unit containing a Cathode Ray Tube that they sell in California. Manufacturers would collect a $6 fee at the time of purchase to pay for collecting the units. If the manufacturer plans to use a public agency to perform the recycling, it would collect another fee of as much as $10 to cover that cost.
        Gov. Gray Davis vetoed a similar bill last year because it did not put enough of the recycling burden on the manufacturers. "We should compel industry to take responsibility for this program," he said at the time.
        But manufacturers are split over whether they want to do it all themselves or pay cities and counties to do the job.
        A few companies like IBM and Sony may have hurt themselves by holding fast to the state-run process.
        When IBM's lobbyist Timothy Mann called for his company's state-controlled plan, there was snickering in the packed room, and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, said: "We're not going there. The governor vetoed that option last year."
        One group conspicuous by its absence at the hearing was the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, whose members include everyone from HP to IBM. The manufacturing group's policy committee was scheduled to meet July 10 and could take a position then, according to Margaret Bruce, director of environmental programs. It wasn't clear then whether the diverging opinions of the manufacturing group's CEOs could be fashioned into a position.
        "Our members have some very different needs," Ms. Bruce said a day after the hearing.
        IBM wants to design its products to be safe for the environment, but doesn't want to be involved in recycling, she said.
        But "HP has a deeply held culture of product stewardship and community engagement."