| GRN Recycle Talk FAQ Answer |
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 98 12:33 WET DST From: FRIEDMAN.FRED@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV (Fred Friedman_ Subject: Re: EPA extended Producer/Product Responsibility (Jennifer Bennett)
July 27, 1998
Dear Jennifer Bennett,
Good question!! Has EPA done any regulation or encouragement of extended producer responsibility by producers/manufacturers of discrete products?
Of course you are aware that the standard for this has been set (and unset) in Europe.
The things that come to mind in the US are mostly not regulatory nor company specific when designated as necessary by US EPA:
- used oil and tires and auto and household battery recycling has been set up by extending producer take-back schemes, but not by mandate.
The corporate voluntary examples (and sometimes not voluntary but not mandated by law or regulations either] are:
- Xerox Corp's redesign and remanufacturing program to produce zero waste to landfills
- Safety Kleen's take back system for solvents and oil
- The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp's national take-back program for Ni-Cad batteries, but they are not the producer, but rather a recycler and are promoted by US EPA.
- The Vehicle Recycling Partnership, of the 'Big 3' automakers promote an end-of-life collaborative framework for behicles promoted by US EPA.
- Cannon Corp has a voluntary laser printer cassette return program carried out through transport by UPS.
- Mitsubishi Electric considered doing this for some products in Japan and the US voluntarily, especially home appliances.
But the only place that I can think of where this has been regulatorily the case has been in the sates of VT, FL and MN requiring the take back for recycling of such things as fluorescent lamps.
And the following: CT has a take back system on mercuric oxide and lead acid batteries; Maine has some degree of a take back system by producers for mercuric oxide and rechargeable batteries.; NJ makes battery manufacturers liable for the collection, trnasport, recycling and disposal of merrcuric oxide, nicad and sealed lead acid batteries as well as other provisions.
I have a call in to a colleague at EPA's Office of Solid Waste in Washington, DC to get her ideas on the subject and will report anything new.
- Research Library for RCRA