Danielle Jackson

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a rule designed to eliminate the barriers to recycling electronic waste, or e-waste, products such as computers and cathode ray tubes (CRTs).

Under the proposal, discarded electronic products designated for possible reuse would not be classified as waste and would not have to be managed according to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requirements. Additionally, discarded electronic products containing mercury would be classified as universal wastes instead of hazardous wastes.