Video display devices (VDD) and covered electronic devices (CED)

Understanding Minnesota’s Electronics Recycling Act starts with a clear view of what kinds of devices are addressed by the law. The act addresses only select household electronics; devices sold to schools, businesses, or other organizations are not affected.

What is a video display device?

A "video display device" (VDD) is defined in the Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act. A VDD must meet each of these criteria as defined in the law.

Marketed to: "Households" in Minnesota

Screen size: Greater than 9 inches, diagonally 

Device types: "Televisions" and "computer monitors"

• "televisions" include: TVs, TV-DVD/VCR combinations, monitors for home security/CCTV systems
• "computer monitors" include: monitors, all-in-one computers, laptop computers, tablet PCs, eBook readers, digital picture frames, and portable DVD player

New: Does not include refurbished, recertified, open box, or used products.

What is a covered electronic device?

"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)