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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On September 17, 2008, the Electronic Products
3Recycling and Reuse Act, Public Act 95-0959, was enacted,
4setting forth procedures for the recycling and reuse of covered
5electronic devices in Illinois; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act
7banned the disposal of covered electronic devices in landfills
8and incinerators beginning January 1, 2012; and
 
9    WHEREAS, To provide adequate collection of discarded
10electronic devices and comply with the disposal ban, more than
11500 collection sites statewide are currently registered with
12the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to accept
13electronic wastes; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Local governments statewide have contracted with
15electronic waste processors and recyclers for collection,
16reuse, and recycling of discarded electronics, providing a
17vital service to their residents; and
 
18    WHEREAS, A significant component of the discarded
19electronic waste stream collected to date has been, and
20continues to be, cathode ray tube (CRT) devices, including
21televisions and computer monitors; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, CRT glass contains lead at a sufficiently high
2concentration to meet the definition of hazardous waste,
3necessitating handling the glass in a manner that protects
4human health and the environment; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The principal recycling market for CRT glass was
6historically the production of new CRTs; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Demand for new CRTs historically provided an
8economic incentive to recycle CRT glass for use in the
9manufacturing of new CRTs, and recyclers received revenue for
10the CRT glass provided to CRT manufacturers; and
 
11    WHEREAS, New CRTs have essentially ceased to be purchased
12in the United States, and there are no CRT manufacturing
13facilities located in the United States; and
 
14    WHEREAS, All CRT glass used in the manufacturing of new
15CRTs is now exported to India to the single remaining CRT
16manufacturing facility in the world; and
 
17    WHEREAS, There exist limited additional available outlets
18for the legitimate recycling of CRT glass in the United States;
19and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The quantity of CRT glass collected far exceeds
2current demand and available markets for the glass; and
 
3    WHEREAS, CRT glass processing and recycling now carries a
4substantial cost, a significant change since the Electronic
5Products Recycling and Reuse Act was enacted in 2008; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The increased cost to process CRT glass has caused
7a number of electronic waste collection programs operated by
8local governments in Illinois to bear the cost increases or to
9be discontinued to avoid accumulation of CRTs; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Stockpiles of abandoned CRT glass have been
11discovered at several former electronic waste processing
12facilities across the United States, due to the lack of markets
13for CRT glass and the high cost associated with existing
14markets; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Kuusakoski Recycling and Peoria Disposal Company
16(PDC), both Illinois-based businesses, developed and permitted
17a CRT glass solution, the KleanKover Recycling Solution,
18whereby CRT glass is treated to reduce the leachable lead
19levels in the glass (the principal environmental concern
20associated with CRTs) below stringent federal thresholds and
21placed as Alternative Daily Cover (ADC) in a permitted
22landfill; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC have successfully
2operated the KleanKover Recycling Solution since November of
32013; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Given the lack of viable recycling markets, the
5IEPA has determined that treated CRT glass used as ADC can be
6counted towards manufacturer recycling goals under the
7Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act, as documented in
8IEPA correspondence to Kuusakoski Recycling on November 26,
92013; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Sustainable Electronics Recycling International
11(SERI), administrators of the R2 Standard (a voluntary
12certification standard for electronic waste recyclers) has
13prohibited its certified recyclers from using the KleanKover
14Recycling Solution or any other use of CRT glass as ADC; and
 
15    WHEREAS, At least 11 government jurisdictions in Illinois,
16representing over 4.3 million people and with some of the most
17effective e-waste recycling programs in the U.S., have
18petitioned SERI to reconsider its position on CRT glass
19management, citing the need for additional CRT glass management
20options in the U.S.; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Basel Action Network (BAN), administrators of the

 

 

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1eStewards Standard (a separate voluntary certification
2standard for electronic waste recyclers) has defined any use of
3treated CRT glass within a disposal facility, including use as
4ADC, as a "last resort" option, effectively prohibiting use of
5the KleanKover Recycling Solution; and
 
6    WHEREAS, BAN has expressed interest in considering
7retrievable storage of CRT glass in permitted, monitored, and
8contained designated disposal sites as a preferred CRT glass
9management method; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In response to BAN's interest, PDC has proposed to
11develop a designated storage cell at its Indian Creek Landfill
12to provide storage and future retrieval of CRT glass, should
13markets develop to utilize the leaded glass; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Indian Creek Landfill is fully permitted to
15develop the retrievable storage cell and accept treated CRT
16glass for placement in the cell, as confirmed by IEPA in a
17letter to PDC dated January 26, 2015; and
 
18    WHEREAS, PDC has established a perpetual care fund for the
19Indian Creek Landfill, consisting of a trust fund held by a
20third-party and available to Tazewell County (the host
21jurisdiction for the landfill), which provides funding to
22monitor and maintain the landfill into perpetuity, an even

 

 

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1greater level of financial and environmental protection than is
2required under state and federal regulations; and
 
3    WHEREAS, PDC hosted a tour at the Indian Creek Landfill on
4October 23, 2014 for approximately 35 attendees of the annual
5conference of the Illinois Counties Solid Waste Management
6Association (ILCSWMA) to show attendees how CRT glass is
7currently managed, present the plan for retrievable storage,
8and answer questions; and
 
9    WHEREAS, ILCSWMA conference attendees were subsequently
10polled to determine their support for allowing treated CRT
11glass to be placed in a landfill regardless of whether it is
12used as ADC or placed in a dedicated cell for retrievable
13storage, and attendees voiced nearly unanimous support of this
14option with only 2 of the approximately 60 participants
15dissenting; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC formally petitioned
17BAN on November 18, 2014 to modify its standard and allow, as
18an additional preferred CRT glass management option, the
19placement of treated CRT glass in a retrievable storage cell
20within a permitted disposal site which has a perpetual care
21fund established; and
 
22    WHEREAS, At least 10 government jurisdictions in Illinois

 

 

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1representing nearly 4 million people have sent letters to BAN
2in support of Kuusakoski Recycling and PDC's petition and
3urging BAN'S approval in order to maintain their vital
4electronic waste collection and recycling programs for their
5residents; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The option of retrievable storage of treated CRT
7glass in a dedicated cell at a permitted disposal site will
8provide needed environmentally protective, cost effective, and
9immediately available capacity for CRT glass, resulting in
10relief for residents, local governments, and recyclers across
11Illinois and the United States to manage this problematic
12material and reduce the potential for future discoveries of
13stockpiled material that would pose a significant
14environmental threat; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
16NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
17urge the Basel Action Network and the e-Stewards Leadership
18Council to approve the pending petition submitted by Kuusakoski
19Recycling and Peoria Disposal Company to allow the placement of
20treated CRT glass into a dedicated retrievable storage cell in
21a permitted disposal facility; and be it further
 
22    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
23delivered to the Executive Director of the Basel Action Network

 

 

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1and the policy director of the Basel Action Network.