Buried in e-waste: electronic waste--often dangerously toxic--is becoming a landfill nightmare.

• Author: Hosansky, David

Computers, televisions and other electronic products are producing a worrisome byproduct. Across the country, billions of tons of potentially dangerous e-waste are piling up in landfills, warehouses and homes.

The problem is getting more significant every year as innovations quickly render electronic products obsolete. "It's a very important issue that's just growing exponentially," says Virginia Delegate Brian Moran, who passed a bill last year directing the state to encourage recycling.

FASTEST GROWING MUNICIPAL WASTE

By some estimates, electronic products constitute the fastest growing category of municipal waste. More than 500 million computers will be discarded by 2007, resulting in the need to dispose of 6.3 billion pounds of plastic and 1.6 billion pounds of lead, according to the National Safety Council. Older televisions, cellular telephones, printers, fax machines, microwave ovens and other products also contain potentially hazardous materials.

In many states, concerned legislators and regulators are debating such steps as banning cathode ray tubes (CRTs) from landfills, imposing fees to fund recycling programs and directing state agencies to study ways to reduce the amount of waste.

"This will be an enormous burden on state and local governments on the pretty near-term horizon," says David Wood, executive director of the Grass Roots Recycling Network in Madison, Wis. "It's worth getting out in front of the problem before it overwhelms us."

But policymakers face challenges. Although many in government and industry want to encourage recycling, they face a deep divide over how to fund such programs. Another thorny issue is whether to ban electronic devices from landfills--and whether such a ban would be effective.

Only about 11 percent of obsolete computers are recycled, according to an Environmental Protection Agency estimate. That's partly because many consumers live far from recycling centers, and they may have to pay a fee to get the equipment recycled.

In some areas, local governments foot the bill to pick up old computers and other electronic devices once or twice a year. Some manufacturers and retailers also take back certain products for recycling. And nonprofit organizations often accept donations of computers and other outdated electronics.

A POTENTIAL HEALTH THREAT

Most computer monitors and televisions use CRTs, which contain several pounds of lead. Other hazardous materials in electronic devices include cadmium...