Proposed Rollback of E-waste Law Will Likely Meet Resistance in Maine Legislature

Maine Gov. Paul LePage did not include provisions to roll back the state’s e-waste law in the first regulatory reform bill (LD-1) he proposed to the Legislature. But even if he does, as some expect, in another environmental regulatory reform package, he’s likely to meet with resistance from at least one key Republican lawmaker. The e-waste “law is working well,” said Sen. Thomas Saviello, the Republican head of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. “People have gotten used to it,” he told us.

Meanwhile, industry and other stakeholders voiced uncertainty over the impact on the state e-waste program of a budget proposal by Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker to eliminate state subsidies for recycling and remove mandates on municipalities to provide recycling programs. Walker’s office couldn’t be reached for comment. Jason Linnell, executive director of the National Center for Electronics Recycling, said he doesn’t know what Walker’s proposal “means for the state’s electronics program.” In addition to its e-waste law, the state enacted an electronics landfill ban, he said, so it will take “an act of the legislature to make that electronic program go away."

"It’s unclear at this point whether the [Wisconsin] governor’s proposal will have a direct effect on the e-waste program,” said Walter Alcorn, CEA vice president of environmental affairs. It’s also not clear whether proposals to restrict use of state funds for recycling also apply to funds provided by electronics manufacturers to operate the state e-waste programs, he said. What manufacturers pay goes into a state fund, so “even though it is manufacturer funding it is now under the control of the state,” he said. What’s unclear is whether it counts as state money, Alcorn said.

Barbara Kyle of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition said she couldn’t tell whether Walker is actually “going after” the state’s e-waste law. But some Republican lawmakers are “taking the lead from what’s happening in Washington” to undo environmental regulations, she said. “What’s unfortunate is that they don’t necessarily understand that some of the other things they stand for are actually accomplished by these laws” such as economic development and job growth, she said. “This is one of those issues where regulations are good for business."

Maine Sen. Saviello, meanwhile, said he thinks the e-waste law may need fine tuning. He said he has long believed that “consumers have the responsibility on how we manage our e-waste.” But Saviello was “overruled” by the Democratic-controlled committee “a couple of years ago,” he said. “They felt the way to do this is to hold the manufacturers responsible. And I believe they have put together a successful program.” LePage’s regulatory revamp proposals are unedited versions of what he gathered from his public “listening sessions,” Saviello said. LePage is just forwarding those proposals to the Legislature for action, he said. “My committee will be dealing with e-waste -- whether we expand it or contract it or hold the manufacturers more responsible or less responsible.”

Saviello, who also is on the Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Fairness & Reform, said he wants the state’s e-waste law changed to require collected electronics to be “de-manufactured” in Maine rather than be sent to New Hampshire for dismantling as is being done now. “If we are merely consolidating them [e-waste] in Maine, we aren’t creating any jobs or anything.” Industry would oppose any such move, said CEA’s Alcorn. It’s not constitutional, he said, because it would be a restraint on interstate commerce.

Meanwhile, Rep. Melissa Innes introduced LD-1327 to expand Maine’s e-waste program to cover small businesses. It would also reduce the registration fee for manufacturers by creating a tiered system that will see smaller manufacturers pay less, she told us. Asked whether LePage’s e-waste rollback proposal has support in the Legislature, Innes said the e-waste program had created jobs and helped businesses in the recycling industry. “There are no businesses in Maine that are complaining about our product stewardship laws.” LePage hasn’t said “he is backing off it yet,” Innes said, but he hasn’t put forth a draft of legislation to eliminate producer responsibility for e-waste.