Manufacturer Guide to Maine 's Television and Computer Monitor Recycling Law
Shared Responsibility for Recycling
In the Spring of 2004, Maine passed a new law An Act to Protect the Public Health and the Environment by Providing for a System of Shared Responsibility for the Safe Collection and Recycling of Electronic Waste. This law 38 MRSA §1610 has provisions that apply to television, computer monitor and computer central processing unit manufacturers that have their product offered for sale in Maine . The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MEDEP) created this guide to provide manufacturers of these products with the information from this law that is relevant to them.
Scope
Products covered ("covered electronic devices") are wastes generated by households in Maine, including:
• Computer central processing units
• Computer monitors and televisions with cathode ray tubes and flat panel displays greater than four inches (4”) measured diagonally and that contain one or more circuit boards.
Products with cathode ray tubes or flat panel displays that are not subject to the law include:
• an automobile, a household appliance, a large piece of commercial or industrial equipment, such as commercial medical equipment, in which the cathode ray tube or flat panel display is contained within and not separate from the larger piece of equipment.
Sales prohibition
Beginning January 1, 2006, manufacturers and retailers may not offer a covered electronic device for sale in Maine unless the manufacturer is in compliance with this law.
Manufacturer label required
Beginning January 1, 2005, a manufacturer may not offer a covered electronic device in Maine unless there is a visible, permanent label clearly identifying the manufacturer of that device affixed to it. Please note that this is the only requirement of this law that applies to computer central processing units.
Manufacturer responsibility for waste computer monitors and televisions
Manufacturers are individually responsible for the costs of handling and recycling of all household-generated waste computer monitors and televisions once they are received at a consolidation facility in Maine . This includes products manufactured by any business for which the manufacturer has assumed legal responsibility. Computer monitor manufacturers are also responsible for a pro rata share of orphan waste computer monitors, and television manufacturers are responsible for a pro rata share of orphan waste televisions. MEDEP will determine each manufacturer's pro rata share based on the best available information, and will provide this information to manufacturers and consolidators annually.
Manufacturer plan
By March 1, 2005, a manufacturer of computer monitors and a manufacturer of televisions shall develop and submit to the department a plan for the collection and recycling or reuse of computer monitors and televisions produced by the manufacturer and generated as waste by households in this State. A manufacturer can satisfy the plan requirements by agreeing to participate in a collective recovery plan with other manufacturers. There is no requirement for the MEDEP to approve these plans. MEDEP will review the manufacturers' plans and will notify manufacturers of any plan deficiencies.
The manufacturer recovery plans (both individual and collective) must include, at a minimum:
(a) A description of the collection system, including the methods of convenient collection;
(b) A public education element to inform the public about the collection system, including details about meeting all consumer notification and labeling requirements;
(c) Details for implementing and financing the handling of computer monitors and televisions produced by the manufacturer and orphan waste computer monitors and televisions that are generated as waste by households in this State and received by consolidation facilities in this State;
(d) Details for the method of reimbursing consolidation facilities for the costs of handling and recycling the household computer monitors and televisions;
(e) Documentation of the willingness of all necessary parties to implement the plan, including the parties that will participate in the consolidation, treatment, recovery, reuse and recycling of the computer monitors and televisions;
(f) Assurances that the plan and all necessary parties will operate in compliance with local, state and federal waste management laws, rules and regulations;
(g) Descriptions of the performance measures that will be used and reported by the manufacturer to report recovery and recycling rates for computer monitors and televisions at the end of life of those computer monitors and televisions;
(h) Descriptions of additional or alternative actions that will be taken to improve recovery and recycling rates, if needed; and
(i) Annual sales data on the number and type of computer monitors and televisions sold by the manufacturer in this State over the 5 years preceding the filing of the plan.
Sample Manufacturers Plan (MS Word) (pdf format)
Manufacturer implementation of the plan
By January 1, 2006, manufacturers of computer monitors televisions must implement and finance the implementation of their plan for the collection and recycling or reuse of computer monitors and televisions produced by the manufacturer and generated as waste by households in Maine . A manufacturer is responsible for all costs associated with the development and implementation of the plan. If the costs are passed on to consumers, the costs must be imposed at the time of purchase and not with a fee imposed at the end of life of the computer monitor or television.
Each computer monitor manufacturer and television manufacturer must work cooperatively with consolidation facilities to ensure implementation of a practical and feasible financing system. Within 90 days of receipt of an invoice, a manufacturer shall reimburse a consolidation facility for allowable costs incurred by that consolidation facility.
Manufacturer reporting requirements
Beginning July 1, 2007, and annually thereafter, a manufacturer that offers a computer monitor or television for sale in Maine must submit a report to MEDEP that includes the following:
• a description of the collection, consolidation and recycling services utilized to recover the manufacturer's products;
• substantiated estimates, on an annual basis for the preceding calendar year, of the quantities of covered electronic devices marketed in this State and collected for recovery in this State;
• the capture rate for electronics based on sales in this State;
• substantiated estimates of the percentage of collected materials that are reused and recycled from its products;
• the identification of end markets for the collected waste; and
• any systems implemented by the manufacturer to ensure environmentally sound management of its products.
A manufacturer may designate information contained in these reports as being only for the confidential use of the department, its agents and employees, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources and the Department of Human Services and their agents and employees, other agencies of State Government, as authorized by the Governor, employees of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Attorney General and employees of the municipality in which the waste is located. The manufacturer can make this designation by clearly indicated on each page or other portion which information is to be held confidential.
Where to direct all submittals and questions
Manufacturers should address all submittals to:
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Remediation & Waste Management, E-waste Program
17 State House Station
Augusta , Maine 04333
MEDEP staff contact for this program is:
Carole Cifrino, Environmental Specialist IV
Division of Solid Waste Management
Bureau of Remediation & Waste Management
Phone: 207-287-7720 or 207-287-2651Fax: 207-287-7826
E-mail: carole.a.cifrino@Maine.gov
