For Immediate Release
December 17, 2013
Contact:
Mark Carpenter
[email protected] MIT/NCER report shows overwhelming majority of electronics recycled within the United States
(Washington, DC) – The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) today welcomed a new report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Materials Systems Laboratory and the U.S. National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) indicating that more than 90 percent of used electronics collected for recycling within the U.S. remains in the U.S. for processing, and not exported. This study, along with similar reports by the U.S. International Trade Commission and the International Data Corporation, provide irrefutable evidence that used electronics products are being reused and recycled in America, not “dumped” into developing countries as proponents of export controls have argued for years.
The study was completed under the umbrella of the StEP initiative - a partnership of several UN organizations, industry, government and international organizations, NGOs, and the science sector – and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in support of the U.S. government’s National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship. According to Jane Nishida, Acting Assistant Administrator, U.S. EPA Office of International and Tribal Affairs, “We are pleased that StEP, working with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Center for Electronics Recycling, was able to deliver a report that provides a scientific-based approach to generating information on U.S. exports of used electronics.”
“This latest study adds to the growing body of evidence that the U.S. electronics recycling industry is flourishing, recycling used electronics right here in America,” said Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “Over the past ten years this market has shown tremendous growth, and today, American recyclers have the know-how, the technology and the capacity to handle the growing stream of used electronics products collected domestically.”
The MIT/NCER study found that in 2010, there were more than 258 million units of electronics (computers, monitors, mobile phones, and televisions), the equivalent of 1.6 million tons generated in the U.S. Of this total, 66 percent of units was collected for reuse or recycling – 56 percent based on weight. And of the amount collected, only 8.5 percent was exported on a unit base or 3.1 percent when measuring by weight.
The EPA estimates that only 25 percent of eligible used household electronics products are being collected for recycling. “Figuring out a way to pull that remaining 75 percent out of the basements and garages of homes throughout America, as well as preventing the material from being disposed of in landfills, provides the largest opportunity for increasing the recycling of used electronics in the U.S., and thus increasing jobs in the domestic electronics recycling industry,” said Wiener.
ISRI recently launched
Project Reboot, an effort to educate consumers on the importance of responsibly recycling used electronics and make them aware of opportunities for recycling within their communities. As more consumers begin to recycle their electronics, the domestic electronics recycling industry will be even further strengthened, more jobs will be created, and greater amounts of valuable natural resources will be recovered.
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The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI)
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI) is the Voice of the Recycling Industry™. ISRI represents more than 1,700 companies in 21 chapters nationwide that process, broker and industrially consume scrap commodities, including metals, paper, plastics, glass, rubber, electronics and textiles. With headquarters in Washington, DC, the Institute provides safety, education, advocacy, and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the U.S. economy, global trade, the environment and sustainable development.