CNET - February 11, 2009
If Congress can't figure out what to do with its old computers, members of the House of Representatives rationalized Wednesday, it's unlikely anyone else can. Electronic recycling programs have been conspicuously unsuccessful, prompting the House Science and Technology Committee to draft a bill to fund grants for higher education programs related to e-waste management, as well as grants for research and development to find ways to better manage e-waste through product design, reuse, and recycling... Biggert is hardly alone in her confusion. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that, at best, only about 18 percent of electronic waste is recycled, pointed out Valerie Thomas, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of Industrial and Systems Engineering. "Products need to be designed for recycling, and collection programs need to be very easy," Thomas said. Read more>>>