Buying and selling pounds

Program year 6 ends June 30, 2013. Transactions involving eligible pounds of recycled covered electronic devices (CED) and recycling credits must be completed before July 1, 2013.

Under the Minnesota law, registered stakeholders must make their own connections to buy and sell pounds of CED before the July 1 deadline.

Manufacturers

In Minnesota, registered manufacturers of “video display devices” must be aware that the current program year ends June 30, 2013. Please review these requirements to ensure that your company will meet its recycling obligation under the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act.

1. Are you registered?
2. Estimate your recycling obligation
3. Meet your obligation: Purchase recycled pounds and/or recycling credits, or pay recycling fee

Due date: All purchases and sales of recycled pounds and recycling credits must be completed before July 1, 2013. Formal reporting of these transactions will be due to the Minnesota Department of Revenue on Sept. 1, 2013.

Are you registered?

Check the list of eligible brands of video display devices (VDD) that can be sold in Minnesota. Unregistered brands cannot be sold by retailers to households/consumers in Minnesota. If you are not registered, contact MPCA for assistance.

• List of registered brands

Estimate recycling obligation

First, estimate weight of Minnesota sales of video display devices for July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013:

• Use actual retail sales data for Minnesota household/consumer purchases of VDD.
• Or calculate a Minnesota portion of U.S. sales of VDD by multiplying the total by 1.72% (0.0172), Minnesota’s share of the U.S. population.

Recycling obligation is 80% by weight of these Minnesota sales.

Meet estimated recycling obligation

Recycling obligation is 80% by weight of these Minnesota sales. Manufacturers can meet this program year's recycling obligation through a combination of three options:

1. purchase of eligible pounds of recycled covered electronic devices (CED)
2. manufacturer recycling credits (limited to 25% of a manufacturer's PY recycling obligation)
3. recycling fees; per-pound fee charged to the manufacturer

Manufacturers must make their own connections with parties selling eligible recycled pounds or recycling credits; see administrative contacts.

All transactions to meet PY6 recycling obligation must be completed before July 1, 2013.

Recycled pounds of CED

Most manufacturers purchase pounds of recycled covered electronic devices (CED) to meet their program year recycling obligation. Manufacturers should communicate with the seller of recycled pounds to ensure that the pounds were collected and recycled by registered stakeholders and that the devices meet all required criteria for CED.

Manufacturer recycling credits

Recycling credits are created when a manufacturer purchases recycled pounds of CED that exceed their recycling obligation. These credits do not expire, but only manufacturers can hold them. The use of recycling credits is restricted to 25% of a manufacturer's recycling obligation in a given program year.

This 25% limit is part of the 2009 amendments to the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act [Minn. Stat.  § 115A.1314, subd, 1(c)]: 2009 Legislative Session amendments

Manufacturers with recycling credits on record with the Minnesota Department of Revenue can use these credits for PY6, sell them to another manufacturer, or choose to bank to meet future obligation. All use of credits is subject to the 25% limit as noted above.

Recycling fees

Manufacturers that do not meet their recycling obligation for PY6 before July 1, 2013, will be assessed fees at these listed rates:

1. $0.50/lb. for manufacturers that recycle less than 50% of their obligation.
2. $0.40/lb. for manufacturers that recycle 50-90% of their obligation.
3. $0.30/lb. for manufacturers that recycle 90% or more of their obligation (but less than 100%)

In general, recyclers and collectors are selling eligible recycled pounds of CED at prices lower than these fees.

Definitions

The Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act defines important terms in great detail. We offer these brief explanations, but refer you to state statute for complete details:

Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act (Minn. Stat. 115A.1310 to 115A.1330)

• Video display device means a television or computer monitor, including a laptop computer, that contains a cathode-ray tube or a flat panel screen with a screen size that is greater than nine inches measured diagonally and that is marketed by manufacturers for use by households. (115A.1310 subd. 20)
• Manufacturer means a person who: (1) manufactures video display devices to be sold under its own brand as identified by its own brand label; or (2) sells video display devices manufactured by others under its own brand as identified by its own brand label. (115A.1310 subd. 11)
• "Retailer" means a person who sells, rents, or leases, through sales outlets, catalogs, or the Internet, a video display device to a household and not for resale in any form. (115A.1310 subd. 17)
• "Household" means an occupant of a single detached dwelling unit or a single unit of a multiple dwelling unit located in Minnesota who has used a video display device at a dwelling unit primarily for personal use. (115A.1310 subd. 10)
• Covered electronic devices include computers, peripherals, facsimile machines, DVD players, video cassette recorders, and video display devices; they must come from Minnesota household sources, and be collected and recycled by registered stakeholders during the program year. (115A.1310 subd. 7)
• Metropolitan area is the 11-county area surrounding the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul: Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Washington, and Wright. [Minn. Stat. 115A.1314, subd. 2(b)].