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What the New Law Means to Electronics Manufacturers
Public Act 95-0959 - Electronic Products Recycling & Reuse Act
Registration Deadline: October 1, 2010
$5,045 Registration Fee Due: November 1, 2010
I. Introduction
Public Act 95-0959 became the law of the State of Illinois in September 2008.
The law establishes a statewide system for recycling and/or reusing computers,
monitors, televisions, and printers discarded from residences. While electronic
equipment discarded from non-residential sources is exempt from the
collection and recycling portions of the Act,
owners of such discarded equipment must follow any applicable regulations if the waste is hazardous.
A
complete version of the Act may be viewed on the Illinois General Assembly website.
The purpose of this document is to provide a basic understanding of how the
Act works, as well as the responsibilities of electronics manufacturers.
A registration form must be completed and returned to the e-mail address indicated on the form.
II. Definition of Manufacturer
The Act's definition of manufacturer reads as follows:
"Manufacturer" means a person, or a successor in interest to a person, under whose brand or label a CED
is or was sold at retail. For CEDs sold at retail under a brand or label that is licensed from a person
who is a mere brand owner and who does not sell or produce the CED, the person who produced the CED or
his or her successor in interest is the manufacturer. For CEDs sold that were at retail under the brand
or label of both the retail seller and the person that produced the CED, the person that produced the
CED, or his or her successor in interest, is the manufacturer. A retail seller of CEDs may elect to be
the manufacturer of one or more CEDs if the retail seller provides written notice to the Agency that it
is accepting responsibility as the manufacturer of the CED under this Act and identifies the CEDs for
which it is electing to be the manufacturer.
The distribution list for the registration mailing is a compilation of registration lists from other
states that have enacted similar legislation, as well as additional research undertaken by the Illinois
EPA. Consequently, there may be companies on this list that do not meet the Illinois definition of
manufacturer. The above registration form permits a company that has received the mailing to
certify that it is exempt from the Act because it does not fit the Illinois definition of manufacturer.
III. Basic Provisions of the Act
The Act sets forth the following:
- Manufacturers of computers, computer monitors, televisions, and printers (collectively, "covered
electronic devices" or "CEDs") must register with the State
on an annual basis in order to sell their products in the State. An annual
registration fee of $5,000 (indexed for inflation in the future) is also
required. See Section 30 of the Act.
- Manufacturers of CEDs must meet an annual recycling/refurbishment goal set
for each manufacturer in tons by the Illinois EPA.
- The cost of meeting the annual CED recycling/refurbishment goal is the responsibility of electronics
manufacturers.
- Please note that the Act only requires those manufacturers wishing to sell their electronic products in
the State to register with the State, and pay the registration fee. However, the Illinois EPA will set
an annual recycling goal for computer/monitor/printer manufacturers with past products represented in
return share data.
- Each year, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) will use formulas contained in the Act
to calculate recycling goals for each manufacturer. These goals will be calculated in tons, and will
be distributed to manufacturers several months before the beginning of the next program year.
See Sections 15-19 of the Act.
- The annual recycling goal for television manufacturers is based on current market share in Illinois
(i.e., each manufacturer's share of television sales).
- The annual recycling goal for computer, computer monitor, and printer manufacturers is based on current
return share (i.e., each manufacturer's share of the total weight of equipment returned for recycling).
- To meet their annual goals, manufacturers are free to engage in their own recycling or refurbishment,
contract with recyclers and refurbishers registered with the State, or join/form an alliance with other
manufacturers. This list is on the IEPA's website. Registered recyclers
and refurbishers are required to meet a set of standards listed in the Act. See Section 50 of the Act.
- To ensure that electronic recycling is available in all areas of the State, the Act provides
"double credit" for the total weight of CEDs recycled or refurbished in "underserved counties"
of the State. These are counties in which little electronic recycling infrastructure is yet in place.
See Section 30(d)(3) of the Act.
- To provide additional incentive for refurbishing discarded residential equipment, the Act provides up
to "triple credit" for the total weight of CEDs refurbished and then donated to various types of
501(c)3 organizations listed in the Act. See Section 30(d)(2) of the Act.
- To provide an incentive for the collection of electronic equipment that is not a CED (e.g., DVD
players, fax machines, and other equipment listed in the Act), the weight of these "eligible
electronic devices" (collectively "EEDs") also counts toward a manufacturer's annual recycling goal.
See Definitions in the Act.
- Beginning January 1, 2012, CEDs are banned from Illinois landfills. Penalties for ban violations are
listed in the Act. See Sections 95 and 80(f) of the Act.
- Also beginning January 1, 2012, a penalty schedule for manufacturers not complying with the Act will
take effect. See Section 80 of the Act.
IV. Sampling, Reporting, and Labeling Requirements of the Act
- Section 30(e) of the Act requires manufacturers, either individually or as a group, to hire a third-party auditor once per
calendar quarter during the program year. The auditor's task is to perform statistically significant return share samplings
at recyclers' or refurbishers' facilities, which can also include collection locations. This requirement applies to all
electronics manufacturers that received a recycling/refurbishment goal based either entirely, or in part, on information
technology product return share data. A manufacturer that received a goal based solely on television market share is not
required to follow this sampling requirement.
- A report of each sampling day is to be submitted to the Illinois EPA within 30 days after the calendar
quarter in which the sampling day(s) took place. The data to be included in the report are summarized in Section 30(e).
- The Illinois EPA is to be advised 30 days prior to each sampling day, of where and when the
sampling will occur. Please do this by sending an e-mail to
EPA.E-Recycling@illinois.gov.
- Section 30(i) and 30(j) prescribe reporting requirements for television and information technology
manufacturers, respectively, for program year 2010.
- Manufacturers of both televisions and IT CEDs may submit one report by September 1, 2010
containing all the required data listed in both Section 30(i) and 30(j), and summarized below.
- For television manufacturers, the first report is due September 1, 2010, and covers the period
January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010. This report must include:
- The total weight of televisions sold to residential customers in Illinois between 1/1/10-6/30/10,
per the retailer requirement in Section 40(d). This report can be identical in format to the
sales-by-weight report submitted in summer 2009 for the period 10/1/08-3/31/09.
- The total weight of televisions, the total weight of computers, the total weight of monitors, and
the total weight of printers recycled or processed for reuse. The total weight of each product
type should be listed separately. There is no requirement to break down CEDs by brand.
- The total weight of EEDs, as a group. There is no requirement to break down EEDs by brand,
product type, or other category.
- For IT manufacturers, the first report is due August 15, 2010 and covers the period January 1,
2010 through June 30, 2010. This report must include:
- The total weight of televisions, the total weight of computers, the total weight of monitors, and
the total weight of printers recycled or processed for reuse. The total weight of each product
type should be listed separately. There is no requirement to break down CEDs by brand.
- The total weight of EEDs, as a group. There is no requirement to break down EEDs by brand,
product type, or other category.
- Section 55(c) prescribes reporting requirements for collectors.
- The first report is due August 15, 2010, and covers the period January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2010.
- This report must include:
- The total weight of televisions, the total weight of computers, the total weight of monitors, and
the total weight of printers collected or received for each manufacturer with which the collector
is receiving CEDs and/or EEDs. The total weight of each product type should be listed separately.
There is no requirement to break down CEDs by brand.
- The total weight of EEDs, as a group. There is no requirement to break down EEDs by brand,
product type, or other category.
- The phrase "collected or received for each manufacturer" means the manufacturer for which the
collector is receiving material to help that manufacturer achieve its annual recycling/refurbishment goal.
- To clarify, assume a collector is receiving CEDs and EEDs for two manufacturers. The report
should break down the CEDs and EEDs as noted above for each of those two manufacturers so the
Illinois EPA can calculate how well each of the two manufacturers is achieving its annual goal.
- Section 19(c) requires the Illinois EPA to use the greater of the two volumes reported by
manufacturers or collectors in its calculations of the overall statewide goal for the following
program year.
- Sections 30(n) and (o) state that starting January 1, 2010:
- No manufacturer may sell a computer, monitor, television, or printer to residential customers in
Illinois without having registered with the Illinois EPA and remitted the $5,045 registration fee.
- No manufacturer may sell a computer, monitor, television, or printer to residential customers in
Illinois unless the manufacturer's brand name is permanently affixed to, and is readily visible on,
the computer, monitor, television, or printer.
- To make future recycling more efficient, the Illinois EPA recommends that manufacturers begin
including in this label the weight of the product. This is not a requirement, however.
V. What Manufacturers Should Do Now
The $5,045 registration fee should be payable to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Electronics Recycling Fund and mailed to:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Electronics Recycling Fund
1021 N. Grand Avenue East
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Attn: Michelle Bentley
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