Recyclers

Recyclers accept "covered electronic devices" from households or collectors of these devices in Minnesota. Recyclers dismantle the devices for further processing or process the devices into raw materials for use in new products.

Requirements for recyclers

Minnesota's law identifies some clear program-year responsibilities for recyclers.

Registration. Free, but required. Submit the registration form for each program year, providing contact information for the organization or individual and listing collection sites where covered electronic devices are received in that program year.

• Due July 15 each program year.

Compliance. Through registration and reporting, recyclers certify that they:

• comply with all applicable health, environmental, safety, and financial responsibility regulations
• are licensed by all applicable governmental authorities
• use no prison labor to recycle video display devices
• possess liability insurance of not less than $1 million for environmental releases, accidents, and other emergencies.

Reporting. Recyclers document their recycling efforts for the program year, reporting on the weight of recycled covered electronic devices, the sources for those pounds, and details on program-year sales of program pounds to registered stakeholders.

• Due July 15 each program year.

"Covered electronic devices" (CED) are consumer electronics that can be collected, recycled, and sold as pounds to meet manufacturer recycling obligation.

A "covered electronic device" (CED) is defined in the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act.  CED are defined in terms of source (from households in Minnesota), device types, and when they are collected. CED must meet all of these criteria:

Source: From "households" in Minnesota

Source: Collected and recycled by stakeholders registered with MPCA for a given program year.

Device types: Any brand

• "Video display devices" (VDD)
• Computers
• Peripherals (includes keyboard, printer, or any other device sold exclusively for external use with a computer that provides input or output into or from a computer)
• Facsimile machines (FAX)
• DVD players
• Video cassette recorders (VCRs)

Eligibility for sale to meet recycling obligation: CED collected in a given program year must be recycled and the pounds sold to a manufacturer before the start of the next program year (July 1).

• Eligible pounds for PY6 must be collected and recycled from July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013, and sold before July 1, 2013.

Do not count as CED

Under Minnesota's law and program, CED are precisely defined. Here are examples which do not meet the definitions in the law and should not be reported under the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act:

• Exclude: Anything collected from sources other than Minnesota household (e.g., commercial/industrial/institutional, out of state)
• Exclude: Transport packaging (pallets, boxes/gaylords)
• Exclude: Appliances
• Exclude: Cell phones/PDAs
• Exclude: Stereo/audio equipment
• Exclude: Household/small electrics (i.e., toasters, vacuum cleaners)
• Exclude: Electronic media (i.e., CD-ROMs, diskettes, cassettes, backup tapes)
• Exclude: Toner/ink cartridges collected separately (e.g., not as part of a printer or fax machine collected for recycling)