CEA says electronics recycling jumped in 2011

CEA says electronics recycling jumped in 2011

By Henry Leineweber, Resource Recycling

The Consumer Electronics Association has released new numbers [1] showing year-over-year e-scrap recycling increased 53 percent in 2011.

The volume of electronics recycled by participants in the CEA's eCycling Leadership Initiative [2] increased to 460 million pounds in 2011, versus 300 million pounds in 2010 – considered the baseline year by the CEA's study. Approximately 96 percent of material collected was processed by either an R2 or e-Stewards certified e-scrap processor in 2011.

"Responsible recycling is a key component of this initiative," said Walter Alcorn, CEA's vice president of environmental affairs in a conference call. "Even though the total volume of electronics out there is tough to pin down, we're confident that what we do collect is getting recycled responsibly."

Also announced was a substantial increase in access to recycling, with the number of drop-off locations for covered electronics increasing from 5,000 locations to 7,500 locations last year. Alcorn, joined on the conference call by Best Buy government relations director Parker Brugge and Panasonic corporate environmental department director David Thompson, also highlighted the GreenerGadgets.org [3] website, launched by the initiative last fall. The site allows consumers to input their zip code and find electronics recycling services in their area, as well as look up information on the value of their old devices.

"We need to get to the point where consumers are able to make an educated decision about recycling their electronics," said Brugge. "Obviously, we've got a long way to go, but better access to collection is part of that."

Launched a year ago, the eCycling Leadership Initiative is an ambitious plan to coordinate electronics recycling efforts and recycle one billion pounds of consumer electronics by 2016.. Organized by the CEA, the initiative included 20 OEMs and retailers in 2011, such as Apple, Best Buy, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, Sony and others.

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