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*. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	13-P-0298
£ JUL, \ Office of Inspector General	June 21 2013
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At a Glance
Why We Did This Review
The purpose of this review was
to determine whether the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has information
of sufficient quality to assess
the adequacy of its electronic
waste (E-waste) management
and the effectiveness of its
enforcement policies, to assure
that public health is protected.
E-waste is the fastest growing
domestic waste stream.
It includes devices such as
computers, televisions, and cell
phones. E-waste contains toxic
materials that pose hazards to
human health and the
environment if not properly
disposed or recycled.
E-waste also contains valuable
materials. EPA encourages
reuse and recycling of
electronics over land-filling and
incineration. To that end, EPA
manages E-waste via federal
regulations, voluntary
partnership programs, and
support of third-party recycler
certification programs.
This report addresses the
following EPA's Goals or
Cross-Cutting Strategies
•	Cleaning up communities
and advancing sustainable
development.
•	Enforcing environmental
laws.
For further information, contact
our Office of Congressional and
Public Affairs at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2013/
20130621-13-P-0298.pdf
Improved Information Could Better Enable EPA to
Manage Electronic Waste and Enforce Regulations
What We Found
EPA does not have adequate information to ensure effective E-waste
management and enforcement to protect public health and conserve valuable
resources. For example, EPA manages E-waste without a consistent approach
for defining E-waste. This hampers EPA's ability to effectively collect relevant
information and set goals. Further, EPA lacks complete information on E-waste
disposition, which hinders the effective use of its resources.
EPA enforcement is hampered by the lack of complete information on cathode
ray tube (CRT) exporters in the United States. This incomplete information
hinders EPA's ability to set enforcement targets for the CRT Rule. EPA also does
not have a practical process to determine the hazardous nature of non-CRT
waste. Potentially toxic E-waste could be disposed in municipal landfills or
incinerated without potential hazards being identified as required. Further, EPA
advocates certified E-waste recyclers but has limited knowledge of the extent of
compliance by certified recyclers with federal environmental regulations.
In addition, EPA staff stated that E-waste management and enforcement are
hampered by federal information collection restrictions and a lack of resources.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that EPA: (1) develop a consistent approach for defining E-waste
and identifying information to manage the E-waste universe; (2) develop a
practical process to address hazards of non-CRT E-waste that ensures that this
waste is managed in an environmentally sustainable manner; (3) evaluate
implementation of the certification programs for used electronics; (4) evaluate
resource needs for E-waste management; (5) evaluate methods forgathering the
information needed to set CRT Rule enforcement targets such as the use of
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Section 3007 information request
letters to identify CRT exporters.
EPA concurred with all recommendations, but we consider these
recommendations unresolved pending receipt of planned corrective actions and
completion dates.
Noteworthy Achievements
EPA helped create the Responsible Recycling Practices certification body and
created voluntary E-waste programs. EPA amended the CRT Rule to better track
E-waste, and inspected facilities identified by the U.S. Government Accountability
Office as "willing to violate" the CRT Rule. EPA also participated in the task force
that released the National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship in July 2011.

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