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Washington Recycles: Electronics
Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Which retailers are affected by Washington State’s new electronic product recycling law?

A. Any retailer, no matter where they are located, who offers to sell computers, laptops or portable computers, televisions, or monitors to customers in Washington State. The law applies regardless of the method of sale (for instance, storefront, internet, or catalog). The new law does not apply to wholesale transactions or sales of used products for reuse.

Q. What products does Washington State’s electronic product recycling program include?

A. The program includes televisions, computers, computer monitors, laptop computers, and portable computers that certain customers use. These customers are households, small businesses (under 50 employees), small governments, school districts, or charities within Washington State. The program considers those products “covered electronic products.” Manufacturers of those products must provide a system to recycle covered electronic products. That system must be both convenient and free to the public throughout the state.

Q. Which brands of covered electronic products are eligible for sale in (or into) Washington?

A. The law requires retailers to check the program’s web site at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/epr/ and determine whether or not a brand is eligible for sale. If the web site lists the brand as “in compliance” or “pending,” retailers may go ahead and order additional product. Retailers may not, however, sell brands of covered electronic products that are not on the list to customers in Washington State.

Key point: The status of a manufacturer may change throughout the year so be sure to check the list each time you order any covered electronic products.

Q. What happens if a manufacturer doesn’t register with the state or pay the administrative fee?

A. Manufacturers that haven’t registered cannot sell their televisions, computers, computer monitors, laptop computers, or portable computers in or into Washington State by any means. They cannot have a retailer sell their products on-site. They cannot offer their products through catalogue sales, internet sales, or direct sales to consumers. If they attempt to do so they face financial penalties.

Q. What if a retailer sells an unregistered product?

A. Retailers face financial penalties as well. First, the Department of Ecology (Ecology) will notify the manufacturer that it needs to register its product(s) offered for sale in Washington State. The manufacturer will have 30 days to comply. If the manufacturer doesn’t comply within 30 days, Ecology will assess a penalty against each retailer for each covered electronic product it offered for sale from the first day of noncompliance. The manufacturer will also need to pay a penalty for all the products those retailers offered for sale from the first day of noncompliance.

Retailers may exhaust supplies of products that they had in store inventories, or ordered into store inventories, prior to January 5, 2007, without penalty.

Q. Can retailers still sell any covered electronic product in Washington State?

A. As of January 1, 2007, retailers can sell only those covered electronic products that carry the brand labels of registered manufacturers. It will no longer be legal to sell unbranded, generic, or “white box” products in or into Washington State.

What other requirements are there for retailers?

Retailers who sell new covered electronic products must provide information to their customers that describes where and how to recycle these products. Ecology is going to develop a template that retailers may use as is or modify with their own private label.

Q. When does the law consider a retailer to be a manufacturer?

A. By definition in the law, a retailer is a manufacturer i when it:

• Brands covered products with its own brand name (house brand).
• Imports a covered electronic product for sale in its stores directly from an offshore manufacturer with no presence in the United States (becoming the brand importer).

Key point: According to Chapter 173-900 WAC, the manufacturer is not necessarily the person who assembles the covered electronic product.

Q. When do retailers have to take part in a covered electronic product recycling plan?

A. If a retailer is by definition a manufacturer, then it must take part in an electronic product recycling plan.

Otherwise, the program encourages manufacturers to collaborate with retailers in the development of the recycling plans. ii

Q. Does the program require retailers to provide collection services or provide a collection site for covered electronic products?

A. The program doesn’t require retailers to provide collection sites or services. This is voluntary for the retailers. However, a manufacturer may want to work with retailers to develop such sites or services. iii The decision is entirely up to the parties involved. Should a retailer want to become a collector, the law guarantees it “fair compensation” from the standard plan for providing this service.

Q. What are a retailer’s responsibilities if a manufacturer that cobrands a product with a retailer sells or goes out of business?

A. If another company acquires a manufacturer, the acquiring company assumes responsibility for the manufacturers branded products from the past (historical products) unless the parties agree otherwise. If a manufacturer cobrands with a retailer, the manufacturer may negotiate with the retailer for responsibility. In both cases, the parties must report the results to Ecology. iv

Q. What are the responsibilities of retailers that are by definition manufacturers?

A. They must take part in an electronic product recycling plan. There are two ways they can do this. Manufacturers can take part in the “standard plan” operated by the Materials Management and Finance Authority. Or, manufacturers may opt out of the standard plan and write an independent plan. To opt out, they must meet the following criteria:

1. Their branded products must represent at least 5 percent of the products returned for recycling.
2. Their branded televisions have been sold in the state for at least 10 years.
3. Their branded computers have been sold in the state for at least 5 years.

A group of manufacturers may write an independent plan if their products, combined, represent at least 5 percent of the products returned for recycling. Also, if a manufacturer meets the time criteria by having sold one type of product, it can add different product types to its brand and still write an independent plan. For example, if a manufacturer meets the requirements of selling televisions in the state for at least ten years, it can start selling computers in the state and have both televisions and computers included in its independent plan.

Q. What is the Materials Management and Finance Authority?

A. The law created the authority to manage and operate the standard plan on behalf of the manufacturers taking part.

Though state law created and governs it, the authority has little relationship to state government. It writes its own bylaws, hires and pays its own staff and legal representation, contracts for its own services, and so on. The Materials Management and Finance Authority web site is at http://www.wammfa.com/.

An 11-member board of directors operates the authority. One of the directors must represent a retailer that brands its own products. v

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i 70.95N.020 Definitions (14) "Manufacturer" means any person, in business or no longer in business but having a successor in interest, who, irrespective of the selling technique used, including by means of distance or remote sale:
(a) Manufactures or has manufactured a covered electronic product under its own brand names for sale in or into this state;
(b) Assembles or has assembled a covered electronic product that uses parts manufactured by others for sale in or into this state under the assembler's brand names;
(c) Resells or has resold in or into this state under its own brand names a covered electronic product produced by other suppliers, including retail establishments that sell covered electronic products under their own brand names;
(d) Manufactures or manufactured a cobranded product for sale in or into this state that carries the name of both the manufacturer and a retailer;
(e) Imports or has imported a covered electronic product into the United States that is sold in or into this state. However, if the imported covered electronic product is manufactured by any person with a presence in the United States meeting the criteria of manufacturer under (a) through (d) of this subsection, that person is the manufacturer. For purposes of this subsection, "presence" means any person that performs activities conducted under the standards established for interstate commerce under the commerce clause of the United States Constitution; or
(f) Sells at retail a covered electronic product acquired from an importer that is the manufacturer as described in (e) of this subsection, and elects to register in lieu of the importer as the manufacturer for those products.

(25) "Retailer" means a person who offers covered electronic products for sale at retail through any means including, but not limited to, remote offerings such as sales outlets, catalogs, or the internet, but does not include a sale that is a wholesale transaction with a distributor.

ii 70.95N.030 (5) Manufacturers are encouraged to collaborate with electronic product retailers, certificated waste haulers, processors, recyclers, charities, and local governments within the state in the development and implementation of their plans.

iii 70.95N.060 Plan Content (b) A description of the collection, transportation, and recycling systems and service providers used, including a description of how the authority or authorized party will:
(i) Seek to use businesses within the state, including retailers, charities, processors, and collection and transportation services;
(ii) Fairly compensate collectors for providing collection services; and
(iii) Fairly compensate processors for providing processing services;

70.95N.090 Collection sites/services (b) Collection sites may include electronics recyclers and repair shops, recyclers of other commodities, reuse organizations, charities, retailers, government recycling sites, or other suitable locations.

iv 70.95N.100 Any person acquiring a manufacturer, or who has acquired a manufacturer, shall have all responsibility for the acquired company's covered electronic products, including covered electronic products manufactured prior to the effective date of this section, unless that responsibility remains with another entity per the purchase agreement and the acquiring manufacturer provides the department with a letter from the other entity accepting responsibility for the covered electronic products. Cobranding manufacturers may negotiate with retailers for responsibility for those products and must notify the department of the results of their negotiations.

v 70.95N.290 (1)(a) The authority is governed by a board of directors. The board of directors is comprised of eleven participating manufacturers, appointed by the director of the department. Five board positions are reserved for representatives of the top ten brand owners by return share of covered electronic products, and six board positions are reserved for representatives of other brands, including at least one board position reserved for a manufacturer who is also a retailer selling their own private label. The return share of covered electronic products used to determine the top ten brand owners for purposes of electing the board must be determined by the department by January 1, 2007.