ARF: The Added Cost of Electronics

The acronymn ARF stands for a lot of things. You could be referring to the Animal Refuge Foundation or acute renal failure (kidney trouble). The focus of this article is the term advance recovery fee, which is one approach to funding the recycling of electronic devices. (For information about acute renal failure, you’ll have to consult your doctor.)

So What Is It?

An advance recovery, or point-of-sale fee, is an additional charge imposed on the consumer when purchasing certain electronic devices. The collected fees are used to fund recycling programs.

California is the only state that currently has a recycling payment system using the ARF model. Retailers collect a $6, $8 or $10 fee on cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma devices, the price depending on size. The state began enforcing the fee on January 1, 2005. Beginning in January 2009, the fees will be raised to $8, $16 and $25.

The Pros:

Since the California recycling payment system was put into action in 2005, the volume of electronic material recovered each year has more than doubled:

• 65 million pounds in 2005
• 128 million in 2006
• 185 million pounds in 2007
• About 100 million pounds have been recovered in the first seven months of 2008

Jeff Hunts, Manager of the California Electronic Waste Recycling Program, attributes the increase to greater consumer awareness and growing infrastructure to recover the material.

“The payment system really allows for entrepreneurial initiative to go out and provide a service with the assurance that they will be compensated for whatever they do. Because of that, we have more than 600 approved collectors and 60 approved recyclers throughout the state,” Hunt said.

Because California is making payments to the recycling facilities with public funds, the state can dictate how and where the processing occurs. So all the material in the products included in the fee program are broken down within California at approved sites.

The intent of the program is to provide Californians the opportunity to recycle their electronics easily and cost-free, Hunt said. He estimated that about 95 percent of Californians are able to recycle e-waste for no cost at their convenience.

According to the Electronic Manufacturers Coalition for Responsible Recycling, the program is not perfect, but has many advantages.

It is “visible to the consumer and delivers a strong educational message that the consumer has a role to play in recycling used products and that recycling programs are available,” according to a statement made by David A. Thompson representing the coalition before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials.

The Cons:

Some oppose the advance recovery fee approach. The Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC) explains in a publication that it does not approve of the fee “because such an approach has been shown to not accomplish its goals; is administratively burdensome for all parties; and will only guarantee a new revenue source for government without guaranteeing that an effective recycling system will be put into place.”

Christopher Mclean, CERC Executive Director, said the fee poses a heavy burden on consumers.

“Our economy is in a very difficult state right now-consumers and retailers are suffering. To mandate inflation, to require higher prices . . . is not productive for the economy. It hurts consumers, retailers and manufacturers,” he said.

Referring to California’s recycling payment system, he expressed concern about the fee increase that will be put into effect in 2009. “It is sort of rapidly escalating,” he said.

“What we would like to see, rather than this negative spiral, is a virtuous cycle where good products are coming into the market, flexible ways to recycle and reuse products are being pursued, and you have an affordable way for customers to enjoy the benefits of modern life,” he said.

The advance recovery fee fails to create incentives on the manufacturing side for making products with less harmful materials, according to Mclean. CERC supports the idea of a national e-waste recycling program.

“The right way to approach this, rather than a patch-quilt way, is a national statute that promotes a producer responsibility model,” Mclean said, adding flexibility and innovation must be a part of the program. “A one-size-fits all approach always results in unwanted consequences,” he said

Remember:

No matter where you live, you can use Earth911 to find a location to recycle your e-waste.