Electronic Waste: Investing in Research and Innovation to Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle

Opening Statement By Chairman Bart Gordon

Good morning and welcome to today’s hearing on Electronic Waste. I would like to extend a special thank you to our witnesses. Today we will consider draft legislation to establish programs to address the challenge of e-waste. 

Last April, the Committee held its first hearing on this topic. We explored the challenges of managing the discarded old computers, cell phones, TVs, and other electronic products. These obsolete and inoperable products are being discarded to become what we now commonly refer to as e-waste. 

As consumers move on to flat screen displays and the latest smart phones, older products are likely to be discarded by the millions.  However, as I’m sure we will learn today, these old products still have value.  They either are still functional or they contain valuable materials.  So perhaps terming these sophisticated products “waste” is a bit of a misnomer. 

However, only a small percentage of these products make it to e-waste recyclers.  Most of us put our old electronics out on the curb or store them in a closet or desk drawer.  Perhaps the most egregious practice is the export of e-waste to workers in the developing world.  There, the valuable commodities are stripped from the products and processed using primitive methods.  These practices endanger people’s health and pollute the areas where they live.

This bill represents what I hope will be a first step at the federal level in addressing the growing crisis.  As the Committee learned last April, over a dozen states, local governments, and many companies have begun to increase e-waste recycling.  And through international laws and regulations, companies have removed lead, mercury, and other toxic materials from their electronic products. 

But the Committee also learned that these efforts are not without their challenges, and much could be done better if we knew how to do it.  The bill we are discussing today provides support for academic researchers to start tackling some of the barriers to making electronics greener. 

The recycling of plastics from electronics is a good example of where this type of research could make a difference.  Current technology to sort plastics coming into recycling plants cannot differentiate between all types of plastics.  Plastic streams end up mixed and the re-processed plastics can no longer be used in high-value applications.  This is a problem that can be attacked from both sides. 

Technology to sort plastics can be improved and research can be done to figure out how to make mixed recycled plastics more suitable for use in new products.  Creating more demand for recycled materials will make recycling more profitable and create less waste.

This bill provides a mechanism for bringing together academic researchers and the industry partners. It is important that we are able to implement the new technologies to reduce waste and manufacture products with environmentally friendly materials.   

Finally, the bill before us today also addresses the need to educate both future and current workers.   We need to get engineers thinking about green design of products and recycling. This should become central to the way they approach their jobs.  To that end, the bill creates curriculum development and professional development opportunities.

With that, I look forward to the testimony we are going to receive today.  I now recognize our distinguished Ranking Member and my good friend from Texas, Mr. Hall.

Witnesses

Panel

0 - Dr. Valerie Thomas
Anderson Interface Associate Professor Georgia Institute of Technology School of Industrial and Systems Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology School of In
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0 - Mr. Jeff Omelchuck
Executive Director Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Green Electronics Council Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) G
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0 - Dr. Paul Anastas
Teresa and H. John Heinz III Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment and Director Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering Yale Unive
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0 - Mr. Philip J. Bond
President TechAmerica TechAmerica
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0 - Mr. Willie Cade
Founder and Chief Executive Officer PC Rebuilders and Recyclers Home of the Computers for Schools Program PC Rebuilders and Recyclers Home of the Computers for
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