Illinois
On August 25, 2017, Governor Rauner signed the Consumer Electronics Recycling Act (CERA) which modernizes many elements of the State of Illinois electronics recycling program. Although CERA took immediate effect, many of the programmatic elements of the law will not be implemented until January 1, 2019. In the interim, many of the reporting requirements in CERA will operate concurrently with the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act (EPRRA). EPRRA will sunset on January 1, 2020. Below are many of the key components of CERA. Questions regarding the Illinois EPA’s administration of CERA should be directed to michelle.bentley@illinois.gov.
1. The first program year under CERA will be calendar year 2019.
2. CERA requires each covered electronic device (CED) manufacturer to annually provide a manufacturer e-waste program to transport and recycle residential CEDs collected at program collection sites and one-day events. Each manufacturer has the option of operating its own independent e-waste program or to participate in a “manufacturer clearinghouse,” which is a collection of manufacturers that represents at least half of all manufacturers’ total collection obligations that cooperate to run an e-waste program.
3. CERA implements a “convenience standard” for electronics collections, which requires each manufacturer e-waste program to financially support CED collection locations in counties that elect to participate in the manufacturer e-waste program. In other words, any manufacturer that elects to operate an independent e-waste program will be responsible for financially supporting the entire roster of collection sites statewide.
4. Each year, county governments may elect to participate in the manufacturer-supported e-waste program. CERA specifies the minimum number of manufacturer-funded collection locations for a county as part of the manufacturer e-waste program.
5. Each manufacturer e-waste program must submit an e-waste program plan to the Illinois EPA by July 1 of every program year. The program plan may be submitted by the manufacturer clearinghouse or, for any manufacturer that elects to operate an independent program. Each program plan must include the following items:
- -The manufacturer e-waste program point of contact;
- -Each county that has elected to participate in the manufacturer e-waste program;
- -For each county, the location of each program collection site and one-day collection event included in the manufacturer e-waste program;
- -The collector operating each program collection site and one-day collection event included in the manufacturer e-waste program;
- -The electronics recycler(s) that is intended to be used to transport and subsequently recycle collected CEDs; and
- -An explanation of any deviation from the required number of collection sites for one or more participating counties.
6. The 17 types of CEDs have not changed. However, those CEDs are divided into eight "Covered electronic device categories" or "CED categories", which are:
- -Computers and small-scale servers;
- -Computer monitors;
- -Televisions;
- -Printers, facsimile machines, and scanners;
- -Digital video disc players, digital video disc recorders, and videocassette recorders;
- -Video game consoles;
- -Digital converter boxes, cable receivers, and satellite receivers; and
- -Electronic keyboards, electronic mice, and portable digital music players that have memory capability and are battery powered.
Manufacturers will use these categories to determine market share, return share, and to satisfy end-of-year reporting requirements.
7. CERA includes new reporting deadlines. Manufacturer registration, fee, and the total weight, by CED category of residential CEDs sold during the calendar year immediately preceding the applicable program year must each be submitted to the Illinois EPA April 1. This is a change from the EPRRA in that the reported sales data will be from the preceding program year.
CERA includes an annual registration fee of $5,000 for each manufacturer.
It is important that you read the new legislation and familiarize with the new requirements and deadlines, as the above only highlights a few of them. There were also revisions made to the existing legislation, which is scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2020. There will be overlapping requirements from both Acts as we transition. Both links are listed below.
Consumer Electronics Recycling Act:http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3816&ChapterID=36.
Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act:http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2998&ChapterID=36
Key Dates: Manufacturers of TVs must report TV sales and total CEDs/EEDs recycled from January 1 - June 30, annually. Computer manufacturers must report total CEDs/EEDs recycled from January 1 - June 30, annually. Registration Deadline: April 1, annually. $5,000 Registration Fee Due: July 1, annually.
Last updated 12/22/17