BALTIMORE, MD (May 30, 2003) - Earlier this week the Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA) received the Maryland Recyclers Coalition’s Extraordinary Achievement Award, based on a nomination from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). EIA earned the recognition for its support of MDE co-sponsored electronics recycling events. The award presentation was held at the 15th Annual Maryland Recyclers Coalition Conference held Thursday (May 29) at Catonsville Community College.

“MDE works hard everyday to develop the types of relationships that result in award-winning programs like this one,” said MDE Acting Secretary Kendl Philbrick. “The EIA and Maryland’s local governments stepped up to successfully develop and launch a program that solves a complicated environmental problem. We can do so much more with proactive industry organizations and local government than we can alone.”

In an effort to provide a solution to the problem of managing the large quantities of obsolete computers and televisions, MDE, its sister agencies in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia and the U.S. EPA launched a first-of-its-kind plan called the Region III eCycling Project, a unique collaboration among government agencies and businesses working together to deal with this increasingly important environmental, public health and solid waste issue. EIA was quick to come on board to represent original equipment manufacturers as a partner in this multi-state end-of-life electronics collection, refurbishment and recycling project.

EIA is a national trade organization that includes the full spectrum of U.S. manufacturers, representing more than 80 percent of the $430 billion electronics industry.

The 10 members of the Alliance who are supporting the eCycling Project are: Canon; Hewlett-Packard; JVC; Kodak; Matsushita Electric (Panasonic); Nokia; Phillips Consumer Electronics of North America; Sharp; Sony; and Thomson Multimedia.

Twenty-two of Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions have participated in the eCycling project since the first event was held in Harford County on October 27, 2001. All types of electronics were accepted for recycling from TVs, computers and their peripherals to telephones and VCRs. Events were open to residents and small businesses. Over the course of the electronics recycling project to date, over 900 tons or 1.9 million pounds of electronics have been collected for recycling, thus keeping lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium out of Maryland’s landfills and incinerators.

The manufacturers of consumer electronics are taking a leadership role in the eCycling partnership to recycle obsolete and unwanted electronics in Maryland as well as other Mid-Atlantic states. Additionally, Matsushita Electric Corporation (Panasonic), Sharp and Sony pay the costs for the demanufacturing of all of their electronic products collected at these events.

Members of EIA continue to become more involved in the eCycling project. Recently JVC has agreed to pay for the demanufacturing of all of their electronic products. EIA acts as a liaison to manufacturers of electronic equipment to help facilitate and expand the participation of more electronics manufacturers in the management of obsolete and unwanted computers and other electronics. They have made a significant contribution to developing a management system that can be duplicated nationwide.

The Maryland Recyclers Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable reduction, reuse, and recycling of materials otherwise destined for disposal. Its membership includes businesses, local and state governments, and the general public.

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