Manufacturers Recycling Management (MRM): New Consortium Promises To Handle E-Waste, Tech RecyclingManufacturers Recycling Management (MRM): New Consortium Promises To Handle E-Waste, Tech Recycling

Businesses and consumers trying to dispose of their old, unwanted hardware face a bewildering variety of options and requirements that vary from state to state and even within states. A new partnership of TV manufacturers hopes to provide a single, consistent recycling solution.Manufacturers Recycling Management, formed by Sharp, Panasonic, and Toshiba, has begun operations in Minnesota and plans to expand in the next year to Connecticut, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The companies involved are all members of the Consumer Electronics Association, which is pushing for federal e-waste standards to replace the patchwork of local regulations that would require manufacturers, vendors, businesses, and consumers to adopt different recycling programs depending on where they do business.

The effort may also make recycling easier and cheaper. Demand has been driving up recycling rates in Michigan, for example, while a recent recycling drive was canceled because the organizers couldn't keep up with the amount of e-waste that was delivered.CNET News