As students leave Ackerman Union with their new laptops, they
may look over their receipts to see if everything appears to be in
order. It shouldn’t take long before they notice the words
“E-Waste Recycling Fee” on their bill.
If they turn back to the cashier, asking for details about this
extra tax, they would find that they were billed for the future
cost of recycling their computers.
What students are seeing is a new tax called the Electronic
Waste Recycling Fee, or e-waste fee, which requires all California
sales venues to append a tax to the sale of certain electronic
items.
These items include display devices that contain either a
cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display.
Ranging from $6 to $10, the amount of the fee depends on the
size of the video display being purchased.
The e-waste fee took effect Jan. 1, and is the result of a bill
amendment originally ratified by former Gov. Grey Davis in Sept.
2003.
CRT monitors can contain several pounds of lead, a toxic
substance that can contaminate soil and water supplies. So with 63
million personal computers projected by the National Safety Council
to be thrown away in 2005, proper disposal of e-waste is becoming
an increasingly pertinent issue.
Jan Griwach, a manager at the UCLA computer store, said UCLA
stores will quarterly collect this fee from each applicable
purchase, and remit it to the California government.
“(It is similar) to the soda can deposit program,”
Griwach said, adding that unlike refundable soda bottle deposit
programs, the e-waste fee is not a deposit.
Though the stores collect this fee, they are not responsible for
the collection or recycling of the specified items when their
owners are ready to dispose of them.
The money that the state receives from stores throughout
California will be placed in an account that will fund authorized
collectors and recyclers of electronic waste, partially offsetting
the great expense of safely discarding electronic wastes.
Electronic waste cannot be disposed of through normal means
because it contains hazardous materials, according to the
California Waste Management Board.
Though students sometimes don’t know how to recycle their
computers and monitors, there are many means of doing so, including
one available through a UCLA program.
In collaboration with public works officials, the UCLA
Department of Environment, Health and Safety hosts the UCLA
Solvents, Automotives, Flammables and Electronics Center ““
known as the S.A.F.E. Center ““ which allows students and
Westwood residents to bring their hazardous household wastes into
the center for disposal.
“We accept cell phones and chemicals from any department
on campus,” said Michael Spicer, an environmental health and
safety specialist and program manager of the chemical waste
program.
An alternative for students who want a return on their
investment is to directly recycle their computers by selling
them.
While other methods of recycling involve computers being
disassembled for their parts or being refurbished, this direct type
of recycling extends the lifecycle of the actual computer and
delays its entry into the waste pile.
Through resale, computers can come to serve a similar function
to used textbooks.
On the popular auction site eBay, the Rethink Initiative, a
group supporting the responsible care of e-waste, offers several
options for recycling computers.
Perusing the site, viewers can find a price list of exchange
values based on the specific parts and upgrades in their
computers.
Computers can also be donated for resale on the site.