Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced federal legislation that would restrict the export of untested, nonworking electronic scrap from the U.S.
According to an article posted on the Recycling Today website, the Secure E-Waste Export and Recycling Act (SEERA) was introduced in the House in early May. The legislation, also known as H.R.3036, would “control the export of electronic waste to ensure that such waste does not become the source of counterfeit goods that may reenter military and civilian electronics supply chains in the United States.”
Representatives Adriano Expaillat of New York and Steve Stivers of Ohio introduced the bill, which was promptly referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Prior versions of this bill were introduced by Expaillat in 2019 and by Representative Paul Cook of California in 2017 and 2018.
The bill has the backing of a number of environmental groups, including the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling (CAER), which says that, if adopted, the SEERA legislation would help to keep end-of-life electronics from winding up in toxic waste dumps, reportedly a prime source of raw materials used by electronics counterfeiters.
Read the Recycling Today article on the proposed E-scrap legislation.
A copy of H.R. 3036 is available through the U.S. Congressional website for legislation.
