ENROLLED
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Regular Session, 2010
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 262
BY REPRESENTATIVE LEGER
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality to establish
and appoint an Electronic Recycling and Reuse Task Force to determine viable
methods for the reuse and recycling of electronic devices for all Louisiana citizens,
to eliminate the threat to the environment caused by disposal of electronic waste in
landfills, to review what is currently successful in this state in the area of electronic
recycling, and to recommend the expansion of best practices and new innovative
solutions at the state, community, and individual levels.
WHEREAS, computers as well as monitors, cellphones, phones, televisions, and
other electronic material may pose serious environmental threats when disposed of
improperly because they contain hazardous materials, including lead, mercury and other
heavy metals, materials which leach out of those items in a landfill environment leading to
the hazardous materials being introduced into the surrounding land and even into the
groundwater; and
WHEREAS, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, close to four
hundred million units of electronic material are discarded every year in the United States
totaling over three million tons; and
WHEREAS, of this material discarded less than fourteen percent is currently being
reused or recycled; and
WHEREAS, electronic discards (e-waste) is the fastest growing municipal segment
of the municipal waste stream in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the reuse of one hundred computers with monitors saves enough
electricity to power sixty-eight households in the United States for a year, and the
greenhouse reduction equivalent of removing forty-eight passenger cars from the road each
year; and ENROLLEDHCR NO. 262
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WHEREAS, recycling one hundred computers and monitors saves the electricity
equivalent of powering two and three-quarters households in the United States for a year and
the same as removing two passenger cars from the road per year; and
WHEREAS, the estimated demand for low cost refurbished computers in the United
States for schools, nonprofit organizations, and low-income families is close to twenty-five
million; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana has a high rate of poverty and many low-income families are
unable to afford new computers creating a growing digital divide, and many schools, Head
Start programs, and nonprofit organizations in Louisiana are unable to afford new
technology; and
WHEREAS, the availability of refurbished electronics, primarily computers and
monitors, can help bridge this divide; and
WHEREAS, there exists a need to develop a comprehensive statewide strategy to
address the problems associated with the disposal of computers, televisions, and other
electronic equipment in Louisiana's landfills and to study ways to encourage the reuse or
refurbishment and recycling of these products and their component parts.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the secretary of the Department of
Environmental Quality is hereby urged and requested to establish and appoint an Electronic
Recycling and Reuse Task Force to determine viable methods for the reuse and recycling of
electronic devices for all Louisiana citizens, to eliminate the threat to the environment
caused by disposal of electronic waste in landfills, to review what is currently successful in
this state in the area of electronic recycling, and to recommend the expansion of best
practices and new innovative solutions at the state, community, and individual levels.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall be charged with gathering
information and making recommendations to the department, the governor's office, and the
legislature relative to policies which include the following:
(1)Consideration of a ban on the landfill disposal of e-waste.
(2)Creation of green jobs through the implementation and expansion of
programs for the recycling and reuse of electronic waste. ENROLLEDHCR NO. 262
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(3)Build on, not supplant or undermine, the existing infrastructure which is
primarily in the nonprofit and private sector that currently diverts electronic waste in
Louisiana.
(4)Increase diversion rates for electronic devices.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Electronic Recycling and Reuse Task Force
consist of the following members appointed by the secretary of the Department of
Environmental Quality:
(1)One employee from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality who
is familiar with electronic recycling.
(2)One member who is from a small local government recycling program.
(3)One member who is from an urban municipality public recycling program.
(4)One member from Capital Area Corporate Recycling.
(5)One member who is employed by a Louisiana-based private recycling
business.
(6)One member who is a computer or television manufacturer.
(7)One member who is employed by a private landfill operator.
(8)One member who is employed by a waste hauling business.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE