Carper Makes Economic, Environmental Case for Improving Electronic Waste Recycling and Reuse

Hearing

"Unfortunately, our current systems don't always make it easy to recycle e-waste. Each year, around 50 million tons of electronic waste are discarded in landfills globally, valued at an estimated $62.5 billion--that's billion with a "b.' These figures don't include the electronic waste, such as old smartphones and old computers, that often remain in our homes collecting dust long after we stop using them. In addition to their lost value, the electronics that end up in landfills often leach toxic chemicals into the soil, threatening the health and well-being of nearby communities."

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"Fortunately, the adversity of e-waste also presents us with some clear opportunities. For example, recycling electronics at the end of their useable life allows for the recovery of critical minerals, such as nickel, such as cobalt. Both are important components of electric vehicles, solar panels, and other clean energy technologies. Improving e-waste recycling would help us reach our climate goals, while also reducing our reliance on foreign sources for critical earth minerals. In addition, taking proper care of our electronic waste is vital to national security, as it ensures adequate supply chains and prevents the loss of sensitive information through digital files."

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"The United States is the only developed country not party to the Basel Convention, an international agreement that governs the transportation of hazardous waste between nations. How has the United States' failure to ratify the Basel Convention impacted the electronics recycling industry over the last twenty or thirty years? Also, how will the United States be affected by the new Swiss-Ghana amendment to the Basel Convention, which establishes new definitions for hazardous and non-hazardous electronic waste?"

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