What you can do
If You Own A Computer:
1. Write to or phone your computer manufacturer asking them to take back your old computer free of charge to you, or just bring it back to them and tell them that you want them to take it back!
2. Sign the letter to the European Union, urging them to stand strong against aggressive lobbying efforts by the high-tech industry and the US Trade Representative.
3. Ask the manufacturer to phase out hazardous materials in your computer. URL to be provided soon.
4. Write to the US State Department telling them you do not support oppose their lobby against European take-back plans. Europe should be able to protect its own environment. Tell them you want to see take-back legislation here too. A sample letter and people to address the letter will be provided soon. The letter to Vice-President Gore from the International Campaign for Responsible Technology can be used as a model.
5. Contact you local or state government representatives. Explain to them why you are concerned. Ask them to get involved in developing solutions. They could ban the landfilling and incineration of electronic junk. They can help to promote computer re-use and recycling infrastructure. They can support Extended Producer Responsibility for computer manufacturers.
If You Work For Local Government:
- Save your own budget and save your taxpayers money: Promote Extended Producer Responsibility for waste and make producers pay the cost of managing their waste products. While product take-back legislation gathers popularity and gets implemented in other countries, the US is slow off the mark. Double standards by corporation are increasingly evident. Increasingly, local government representatives are developing solution that don’t just rely on taxpayer financing.
- Find out what other states and provinces are doing to promote product take-back.
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