On July 1, 2013 a new Colorado law went into effect prohibiting consumers from disposing of virtually all electronic devices in landfills. While a similar law has been in place for businesses for many years, this is new for the general public. Trash companies will no longer pick up TVs or other electronic devices left at curbside.
Under Colorado law, residential and business electronics are banned from being disposed of in a landfill and must be recycled. Per ton of waste, recycling sustains ten jobs for every one landfill job. Electronic devices should be kept out of landfills and properly recycled to recover materials and reduce the energy demands from mining and manufacturing. Electronics are made from valuable resources such as precious metals, copper, and engineered plastics, all of which require considerable energy to process and manufacture. Recycling electronics recovers valuable materials and, as a result, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, saves energy, and saves resources by extracting fewer raw materials.
The Colorado law bans: computers, computer monitors, DVD players, electronic books, fax machines, laptops, notebooks, netbooks, ultrabooks, peripherals, printers, slates and tablets, televisions, VCRs, video display devices, and any electronic device with a cathode ray tube or flat panel screen greater than 4” from disposal in landfills. All must be recycled.
A similar law was passed in Illinois in January 2012.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — The state environmental agency says electronics manufacturers have recycled 50 percent more electronic waste since Illinois made it illegal to dispose of the material in landfills.