New Electronics Recycling Regulation
by Randy Esdon
he Government of British Columbia has issued an amendment to the Recycling Regulation to include electronics equipment. The amendment requires all "first sellers" of designated electronics (computer equipment and TVs) to be part of an approved industry take-back and recycling program. BC's Return-It Electronics is a province-wide, end-of-life electronics-recycling program available to all consumers and businesses in British Columbia. As of August 1st, 2007, you can drop off any of the regulated products at designated collection sites without charge, and be assured they will be recycled responsibly. The program is financed by an environmental handling fee (EHF) levied on the sale of new products in the designated categories. 100% of the program revenue will be used for the administration, collection, transportation, and responsible recycling of end-of-life electronics. Commencement of fee collection will coincide with the launch of the program. The following fees will be charged on the sale of new electronics products:
- Desktop Computers $10 (including accessories)
- Computer Monitors $12
- Notebook Computers $5
- Desktop Printers and Fax Machines $8
- Televisions $15 - $45 (depending on size)
The following items are being collected and recycled:
- Desktop Computers: Includes Central Processing Units (CPUs), mouse, keyboards, cables and other components within the computer. This includes desktop computers, desktop computers acting as servers, and all associated keyboards and cabling.
- Computer Monitors: A display device used for displaying images from computers or other sources that does not meet the definition of a television. This includes traditional Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and flat panel display technologies.
- Notebook Computers: Includes portable computers such as notebook, laptop, and tablet PCs.
- Desktop Printers and Fax Machines: This includes printing devices that are designed to reside on a work surface, and includes various printing technologies, including Laser and LED (electrophotographic), ink jet, dot matrix, thermal, dye sublimation, etc. and "multi-function" or "all in one" devices that perform different tasks such as copy, scan, fax, print, etc.
- Televisions: A video display device with an imbedded television tuner. This includes various display technologies, such as traditional Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), flat panel or rear projection.
The following places have been designated as electronic collection sites in the Greater Capital Region:
- Westshore Return-It Centre 858 Esquimalt Road Ph: 250-381-1482
- Sidney Bottle Depot #5-10025 Galaran Road Ph: 250-655-4878
- Salvation Army Sooke #3 - 6686 Sooke Road Ph: 250-642-3612
- Salvation Army - Saanich 3948 Quadra Street Ph: 250-727-3853
- Salvation Army Victoria 1746 Island Highway Ph: 250-727-7823
- Salvation Army View Royal 307 Island Highway Ph: 250-708-0520
- Salvation Army-Victoria 525 Johnson Street Ph: 250-384-3755
- Check out E-Waste Canada?s website for some details about e-waste recycling (http://www.ewastecanada.ca/research.htm).
- Computers for Schools-BC has donated over 85,000 computers to schools and libraries all across British Columbia (http://www.cfsbc.ca/).
- The Electronic Recycling Association is a non-profit that donates computers to charities (http://www.era.ca/donations/recycling/).
- Find A Clone A Home is an unregistered charity in Victoria BC that provides recycled and refurbished computers to citizens of Victoria who "normally cannot afford to purchase their own computer" (http://www.freewebs.com/facah/index.html). [Find A Clone A Home was started by BB&C member Les Fairwether. -ed]
