In a move that would pass one of the toughest laws of its kind in the nation’s largest city, New York’s City Council Wednesday approved a bill to require recycling of electronics, the New York Times reported.
However, the city’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, opposes the bill, as do manufacturers, although the lopsided, 47-3 majority by which it passed could result in either an override of a mayoral veto, or a compromise between the sides.
Under the terms of the proposed law, manufacturers would be required to take back electronics sold either by themselves, or by companies that have since gone out of business. In addition, consumers would be required to dispose of all old electronics by recycling them- with a $100 fine imposed on any New Yorker who trashes a computer, printer or other product in the trash.
Bloomberg, who has been outspoken in the past about his support for recycling initiatives, has threatened to veto the bill because, his spokesman told the Times, “the current bill has untested and arbitrary industry performance standards, which we will not support.”
Several states have passed such laws in the past, but New York would be the first major city to do so.
