NYC adopts e-scrap recycling standards bill

May 19 -- The New York City Council has overridden Mayor Michael Bloomberg´s veto of a bill that mandates performance standards on manufacturers for the recovery of electronic scrap.

Intro bill 729 requires manufacturers to collect 25 percent by July 1, 2012, 45 percent by July 1, 2015 and 65 percent by July 1, 2018. Beginning in 2012, manufacturers not meeting the performance standards face a penalty of $50,000 for each percentage point they come up short.

City Council passed the bill March 26, but Bloomberg vetoed it April 16. On May 14, the council overrode the veto by a 44-3 vote. But Bloomberg is expected to not implement the standards, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Bloomberg signed a companion bill, 728, into law that requires manufacturers to collect and recycle electronic waste generated in New York at no expense to the consumer.

Contact Waste News reporter Joe Truini at (330) 865-6166 or jtruini@crain.com