SR0170 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0170 LRB100 11458 MST 21894 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On September 17, 2008, the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act, Public Act 95-0959, was enacted, setting forth procedures for the recycling and reuse of covered electronic devices in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act banned the disposal of covered electronic devices in landfills and incinerators beginning January 1, 2012; and

WHEREAS, To provide adequate collection of discarded electronic devices and comply with the disposal ban, more than 300 collection sites statewide are currently registered with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to accept electronic wastes; and

WHEREAS, Local governments statewide have contracted with electronic waste processors and recyclers for collection, reuse, and recycling of discarded electronics, providing a vital service to their residents; and

WHEREAS, A significant component of the discarded electronic waste stream collected to date has been, and continues to be, cathode ray tube (CRT) devices, including televisions and computer monitors; and

WHEREAS, CRT glass contains lead at a sufficiently high concentration to meet the definition of hazardous waste, necessitating handling of the glass in a manner that protects human health and the environment; and

WHEREAS, The principal recycling market for CRT glass was historically the production of new CRTs; and

WHEREAS, Demand for new CRTs historically provided an economic incentive to recycle CRT glass for use in the manufacturing of new CRTs, and recyclers received revenue for the CRT glass provided to CRT manufacturers; and

WHEREAS, New CRTs have essentially ceased to be purchased in the United States, and there are no CRT manufacturing facilities located in the United States; and

WHEREAS, All CRT glass used in the manufacturing of new CRTs is now exported to India, to the sole remaining CRT manufacturing facility in the world; and

WHEREAS, There exist limited additional available outlets for the legitimate recycling of CRT glass in the United States; and

WHEREAS, The quantity of CRT glass collected far exceeds current demand and available markets for the glass; and

WHEREAS, CRT glass processing and recycling now carries a substantial cost, which constitutes a significant change since the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act was enacted in 2008; and

WHEREAS, The increased cost to process CRT glass has caused electronic waste collection programs operated by local governments in Illinois to either bear the cost increases or be discontinued to avoid accumulation of CRTs; and

WHEREAS, Stockpiles of abandoned CRT glass have been discovered at several former electronic waste processing facilities across the United States, primarily due to the lack of markets for CRT glass and the high cost associated with existing markets; and

WHEREAS, Kuusakoski Glass Recycling LLC (Kuusakoski Recycling) and Peoria Disposal Company (PDC), both Illinois-based businesses, developed and permitted a CRT glass solution, the KleanKover Recycling Solution, whereby CRT glass is treated to reduce the leachable lead levels in the glass (the principal environmental concern associated with CRTs) below stringent federal thresholds, and is then placed as Alternative Daily Cover (ADC) in a permitted landfill; and

WHEREAS, Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC have successfully operated the KleanKover Recycling Solution since November, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Given the lack of viable recycling markets, the IEPA has determined that treated CRT glass used as ADC can be counted towards manufacturer recycling goals under the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act, as documented in IEPA correspondence to Kuusakoski Recycling on November 26, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Basel Action Network (BAN), administrators of the e-Stewards Standard (a voluntary certification standard for electronic waste recyclers) had previously defined any use of treated CRT glass within a disposal facility, including use as ADC, as a "last resort" option, effectively prohibiting use of the KleanKover Recycling Solution; and

WHEREAS, BAN had expressed interest in considering retrievable storage of CRT glass in permitted, monitored, and contained designated disposal sites as a preferred CRT glass management method; and

WHEREAS, In response to BAN's interest, PDC developed a designated retrievable storage cell at its permitted Indian Creek Landfill No. 2 to provide storage and future retrieval of CRT glass, should markets develop to utilize the leaded glass; and

WHEREAS, PDC has established a perpetual care fund for Indian Creek Landfill No. 2, consisting of a trust fund held by a third-party and available to Tazewell County (the host jurisdiction for the landfill), which provides funding to monitor and maintain the landfill in perpetuity, imparting a greater level of financial and environmental protection than is required under state or federal laws or regulations; and

WHEREAS, Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC formally petitioned BAN on November 18, 2014, to modify the e-Stewards Standard and allow, as an additional preferred CRT glass management option, the placement of treated CRT glass in a retrievable storage cell within a permitted disposal site which has a perpetual care fund established; and

WHEREAS, At least 10 units of local government in Illinois, representing nearly four million people, sent letters to BAN in support of the petition submitted by Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC, and urging BAN's approval in order to maintain the governmental units' vital electronic waste collection and recycling programs for their residents; and

WHEREAS, On March 26, 2015, the Senate of the 99th General Assembly of the State of Illinois adopted Senate Resolution 184 urging BAN to approve the petition submitted by Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC and revise the e-Stewards Standard to allow placement of treated CRT glass into a dedicated retrievable storage cell at a permitted disposal facility; and

WHEREAS, On July 10, 2015, Public Act 99-13 amended the Electronics Products Recycling and Reuse Act to allow CRT glass placed in retrievable storage cells at permitted landfills to be counted towards manufacturer recycling goals; and

WHEREAS, BAN published Sanctioned Interpretation #5 to the e-Stewards Standard V2.0 on April 1, 2016, recognizing placement of treated CRT glass in lined, leachate-controlled, and monitored solid waste landfills as a conditionally allowable option for the management of CRT glass if all preferred options have been ruled out based on established criteria without requirement for further BAN approval; and

WHEREAS, Sustainable Electronics Recycling International (SERI), administrators of the R2 Standard (a separate voluntary certification standard for electronic waste recyclers) has prohibited its certified recyclers from managing CRT glass in any form within a landfill, including as ADC or in retrievable storage; and

WHEREAS, At least 15 units of local government in Illinois, representing over five million people, some of which governmental units maintain among the most effective e-waste recycling programs in the United States, petitioned SERI in 2014, to reconsider its position on CRT glass management, citing the need for additional CRT glass management options in the United States; and

WHEREAS, In June of 2016, representatives of SERI and the R2 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC; a multi-stakeholder group appointed by SERI to review and recommend revisions to the R2 Standard) toured the Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC facilities and received additional information about their CRT glass management process; and

WHEREAS, In September of 2016, Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC announced a further enhancement to their CRT glass management process which will segregate panel glass (which does not include concentrations of hazardous materials in regulated quantities) from leaded funnel glass; this enhancement will permit Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC to utilize crushed panel glass as construction aggregate at permitted landfills as a replacement for washed gravel in the construction of leachate recirculation wells and potentially landfill gas wells, while continuing to treat leaded funnel glass and place it in retrievable storage or utilize it as ADC at permitted landfills; and

WHEREAS, The option of beneficial use of CRT panel glass as construction aggregate, beneficial use of treated CRT glass as ADC, and placement of treated CRT glass in retrievable storage in a dedicated cell at a permitted disposal site provides needed environmentally protective, cost effective, and immediately available capacity for CRT glass, resulting in relief for residents, local governments, and recyclers across Illinois and the United States to manage this problematic material and reduce the potential for future discoveries of stockpiled material that would pose a significant environmental threat; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge SERI (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International) and the TAC (the R2 Technical Advisory Committee) to amend the R2 Standard to create an option for management of CRT glass through beneficial use, including in uses such as landfill construction aggregate and ADC, and placement of treated CRT glass into a dedicated retrievable storage cell in a permitted disposal facility; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the executive director, R2 technical director, and the chair of the Board of Directors of SERI (Sustainable Electronics Recycling International).