Electronics Recycling: Businesses, Retailers, and Manufacturers | South Carolina Department of Environmental Services

The South Carolina Manufacturer Responsibility and Consumer Convenience Information Technology Equipment Collection and Recovery Act

Passed in 2010 that banned the disposal of specific electronics in solid waste landfills (Section 48-60-90); effective July 1, 2011. Given that, the legislation established requirements for landfill owners and operators in regard to keeping covered computer and television devices from being disposed of in the state's landfills.
Revised on March 4, 2014, to add more specific requirements and recovery obligations for computer monitor and television manufacturers.
These new requirements are in addition to existing prohibitions on disposal of electronics in Class 1 and Class 2 landfills in South Carolina.
Revisions were passed to the Act during the 2021-2022 Legislative Session. These requirements modified recycling obligations for television and computer monitor manufacturers to a “convenience standard”, updates definitions, updates requirements for recoverers and collectors of covered devices, and pushes the sunset date to December 31, 2029.

To read the full Act, select 'Electronics Legislation' under 'Downloads & Links.'

Businesses

Businesses should not throw away computers and other electronic equipment and must follow all state and federal regulations regarding the proper management of unwanted electronics. Generally, businesses should:

donate the equipment to an organization for reuse (e.g., non-profits, schools, churches); or
recycle it.

Otherwise, businesses wanting to dispose of electronics must follow hazardous waste regulations unless they prove through Knowledge of Process (KOP) or testing that the electronic equipment is not hazardous. KOP means the business has data or other information from the manufacturer that the components will not be hazardous if properly disposed. Keep all records.

If a business decides to recycle, there are a variety of companies that provide recycling of unwanted electronic equipment.

When selecting a recycling vendor, ask these questions:

How long has the vendor been in business? Can the vendor provide business references?
How is the material managed? How does the vendor handle the de-manufacturing and final disposal of all components and hazardous materials? Is any equipment exported? If so, where and what happens to the equipment?
Does the vendor verify data destruction?
Does the recycling vendor have certification such as R2, e-Stewards, or other comparable industry or governmental standard?

Improperly managed electronics can be a business liability. If a business chooses a collector/recycler who improperly manages or disposes of electronics, the business (the generator of the waste) may be liable for cleanup. According to state and federal regulations, hazardous waste generators are responsible for final disposition of hazardous waste. Businesses should give as much thought to the selection of a collector/recycler of unwanted electronics as they would give to any other hazardous waste collector or recycler.

For information on applicable hazardous waste regulations, call SCDES's Division of Compliance and Enforcement at 803-898-0456.

Retailers

The law defines covered computer devices to include desktop, laptop, and tablet computers as well as computer monitors and printers intended for use by a consumer (Section 48-60-20).

The law defines covered television devices as electronic devices that contain a tuner and are capable of receiving and displaying television or video programming via broadcast, cable, or satellite with a viewable size of 9 inches or larger (Section 48-60-20).

According to the requirements of the legislation, a retailer only may sell or offer to sell a covered computer or television device that bears a manufacturer label (Section 48-60-70). The label must indicate the computer manufacturer's brand and be permanently affixed to the covered device in a readily available location (Section 48-60-30).

Further, a retailer only may sell or offer to sell a covered computer or television device that is manufactured by a manufacturer that offers a recovery program (Section 48-60-70). The recovery program must be provided at no cost and be as convenient to the consumer as the purchase of the covered device. Recovery programs may consist of mail-back systems, collection sites, collection events, or some combination of the three (Section 48-60-40 and 48-60-51).

Televisions that are sold for less than $100 are exempt from the requirements outlined above.

Televisions with a viewable size of less than 4 inches are exempt from the requirements outlined above.

To fulfill their recovery obligations, some television and computer monitor manufacturers may use retail sites as locations to collect covered devices.

Retail sites can be used as collection sites for a manufacturer electronic waste program if the applicable retailer agrees and if the county agrees to its inclusion in writing.

Retail collection sites that participate in the program do not have to collect all covered devices or register as a collector. Nothing in the Act prevents a retailer from collecting a fee for each covered device collected.

Email e-register@des.sc.gov or call 1-800-768-7348.

Manufacturers

Devices Manufactured	Registration Fees*	Take-back Requirements
Consumer Computer or Printing Devices	$3,500 individual fee or $20,000 collective fee from Representative Organization	Provide no-charge recovery program, to include mail-back, collection sites, or collection events.
Consumer Televisions or Consumer Monitors	$3,500 individual fee or $20,000 collective fee from Representative Organization	Individual recycling obligation = 80 percent by weight of SC sales OR obligation = Recovery of devices from local governments with population share equal to total RO market share.

*A manufacturer of multiple types of devices is required to pay only one annual registration fee.

Due to revisions to the Act from H. 4775, the requirements for television and computer monitor manufacturers will be modified after December 31, 2022.

Devices Manufactured	Registration Fees*	Take-back Requirements
Consumer Computer or Printing Devices	$3,500 individual fee	Provide no-charge recovery program, to include mail-back, collection sites, or collection events.
Consumer Televisions or Consumer Monitors	$3,500 individual fee	Individually or collectively fund a manufacturer electronic waste program plan that would fund transportation and recycling of electronic devices recovered from counties that opt-in to the program.

Contact e-register@des.sc.gov for more information about registration through e-permitting.

Manufacturers must register no later than February 15, 2020, and will be billed beginning March 1, 2020. Invoices will include payment options and you will have 30 days to submit your fees to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Registration requirements do not apply to a manufacturer that sold 100 or fewer devices in South Carolina during the prior year.

For the purposes of this statute:

"Covered computer device" means a desktop, laptop, tablet or notebook computer, or a printing device marketed and intended for use by a consumer.
"Covered computer monitor device" means an electronic device that is a cathode-ray tube or flat panel display primarily intended to display information from a computer and is used by a consumer.
"Covered television device" means a device that contains a cathode-ray tube or flat panel screen the size of which is greater than four inches when measured diagonally and is intended to receive video programming via broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, or other mode of video transmission or to receive video from surveillance or other similar cameras marketed and intended for use by a consumer primarily for personal purposes.