Recycling electronics just got easier for New York state residents after a law went into effect Friday as a direct result of student efforts.

‘No politician goes into office thinking environmental policies will be their priority, and it’s difficult to get environmental laws on the agenda. Student lobbying really helped,’ said Ted Traver, project coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group at Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

In support of an e-waste recycling program, students from the SU and ESF chapter of NYPIRG have written to, called and met with elected officials over the past couple of years, according to a March 31 news release from NYPIRG.

The group’s efforts to educate people on campus and in their communities about the e-waste problem resulted in then-Gov. David Paterson signing the bill into law on May 28, according to the release. The Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act, a new state law requiring manufacturers to collect and recycle discarded electronic equipment, went into effect April 1.

The law makes being environmentally responsible easier for New York residents. The law requires manufacturers to ‘establish a convenient system for the collection, handling, and recycling or reuse of electronic waste,’ according to the Department of Environmental Conservation website. Manufacturers of electronic equipment are also responsible for recording the discarded electronic waste and will be monitored by the Department of Environmental Conservation, according to the website.

E-waste is an informal name for electronic products that are no longer in use, according to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery website. Products covered under the law include computers, televisions, VCRs and DVD players, among other electronic equipment, according to the website. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished or recycled, according to the website.

‘Unfortunately, electronic waste is one of the fastest growing and toxic parts of our nation’s waste stream,’ Traver said.

When electronic items are thrown into landfills or burned in incinerators, they create pollution and introduce heavy metals and toxins into the environment, putting public health at risk, according to the release. In addition, researchers estimate 75 percent of old electronics are in storage, in part because of the uncertainty of how to recycle the materials, according to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery website.

‘I have about four cellphones lying around my house,’ said Lexi Headley, a senior English and textual studies major. ‘I have no idea what to do with them, and I’m not convinced that they are actually waste. If I knew how or where, I would recycle them if they really aren’t useful anymore.’

kvdolins@syr.edu

Published on April 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm