Who is responsible for the safe disposal of computers and other E-waste?
At present, local governments and individual consumers have primary responsibility for responding to the E-waste situation. The problem is compounded by the fact that you cant just throw your stuff in the trash or load it in the car and take it to the local landfill. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) restricts and prohibits improper disposal of many E-waste components (4). If you violate RCRA, you may be exposed to financial liabilities for failure to comply with increasingly stringent federal, state and local environmental regulations. However, the issue of taxpayers paying for the results of manufacturing choices (i.e., use of toxic substances, heavy metals, etc.) which they did not choose, has not gone unnoticed. There is a growing movement in this country to make manufacturers of technology assume responsibility for the disposal of their spent products. Many of the more than 50 pieces of state computer disposal legislation currently pending include the requirement t
