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state may require electronics makers to handle of recycling Jan. 13 The Washington state Legislature is considering a proposal that would require manufacturers of electronic products to shoulder the responsibility for recycling their products. Identical measures introduced last week in the state House and Senate would require manufacturers of television sets, computers and monitors to set up collection and recycling programs for unwanted items in each county. The program would be phased in over three years, and manufacturers would establish an oversight committee to create the rules for paying for the program. The billīs sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Craig Pridemore, said a solution must be found for the growing number of obsolete electronics stockpiled in homes and businesses. "Certainly there are better solutions than tossing them into the dump and forgetting about them until the damage to the environment is done," Pridemore said. "And manufacturers bear some of the responsibility for finding those solutions." Pridemore said he hopes that over the long run his bill would encourage manufacturers to make products that contain fewer hazardous materials that can be released into the environment, such as heavy metals. A Senate committee will hold the first hearing on the Senate version of the bill on Jan. 17.
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