New ennviromental laws in california
...e that the new CRT law will add further red tape and confusion to PC makers. This is because each state and region has its own set of rules and restrictions and it would be difficult to check whether the surcharge had been implemented, especially on out of state and international orders as well as shipments directly to consumers, such as via the internet. There have already been difficulties implementing current sales tax laws where products have been bought in another state, country or via the Internet. Michele Raymond is the publisher of State Recycling Laws Update and says that it will be difficult to monitor companies on the internet because they are very unlikely to pay a fee every time. Smaller Internet companies are more likely to overlook the surcharge. On the other hand recycling computers has become a multimillion-dollar business. The owner of ECS Recycling in Santa Clara, California, Tom Hogye is delighted with the new legislation. He believes that customers will now have the opportunity to recycle for free. Randy Lewis who is the president of SoCal Computer Recyclers comments on how the new legislation will assist in consumer awareness. Many consumers and businesses, he states, are unaware that computers and monitors can be recycled. Additionally there is the secondary market of third world companies who are able to take unwanted computers from the United States and repair and remarket them. There has been an increase in the disposal of CRTs because more people are buying flat panels. PCs which are too old or broken for resale, are kept for components and then disposed of. Other PCs faster than 266 MHz are resold. PCs are mostly made up of leaded glass, which is hazardous and its disposal is governed by strict laws. Special crushers and smelters are required to break down the glass but many companies simply separate the leaded glass and ship it overseas to low cost facilities, even though it is not allowed under the international Basel Convention. Although California is often ahead of other states when it comes to environmental issues, analysts are wary of the new legislation. The main problem they believe is how effective it will be to govern companies and whether they follow the guidelines of the new laws. The new laws by the State of California cover many aspects of logistics. Since the product is being returned for recycling, it is known as reverse logistics. Successful reverse logistics needs to have the material to be recycled, have an economical recycling method and a market for recycled materials. At present there are weaknesses such as not enough development to move products back with reverse costs higher and returned goods being stored and handled in a different manner. The new laws hope to combat these weaknesses by introducing an incentive to recycle products and have an effective method of transportation to the recycling facility. Firstly the logistics, which affect recycling, is the initial collection of the product to be recycled. Retailers will be required to provide containers or have appropriate storage for the accumulation of materials. For example some retailers will now have a container where consumers can dispose of their mobile phones so the collection of products can occur directly by asking them to return goods. This saves further costs because the consumer is bringing the product in rather than recyclers collecting them from their house. The methods of packaging ...