Electronic Waste: Actions Needed to Provide Assurance That Used Federal Electronics Are Disposed of in an Environmentally Responsible Manner Page: 2 of 43
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G A O ELECTRONIC WASTE
Accountability * Integrity * Reliability
T Actions Needed to Provide Assurance That Used
Federal Electronics Are Disposed of in an
Environmentally Responsible Manner
Highlights of GAO-12-74, a report to the
Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform, House of
RepresentativesWhy GAO Did This Study
The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) estimates that across the federal
government 10,000 computers are
discarded each week. Once these
used electronics reach the end of their
original useful lives, federal agencies
have several options for disposing of
them. Agencies generally can donate
their reusable electronics to schools;
give them to a recycler; exchange
them with other federal, state, or local
agencies; or sell them through selected
public auctions, including auctions
sponsored by the General Services
Administration (GSA). As the world's
largest purchaser of information
technology, the U.S. government,
through its disposition practices, has
substantial leverage to influence
domestic recycling and disposal
practices. GAO was asked to examine
(1) key initiatives aimed at improving
the management of used federal
electronics and (2) improvements
resulting from these initiatives and
challenges that impede progress, if
any. To do this, GAO evaluated federal
guidance and policy, as well as
guidance and initiatives at five selected
agencies. GAO selected agencies
based on, among other things, the
amount of electronics purchased.
What GAO Recommends
GAO recommends, among other
things, that the White House Council
on Environmental Quality, the Office of
Management and Budget, and GSA
take actions to require consistent
tracking and reporting of used
electronics and ensure appropriate
management of electronics sold at
auction. Each agency concurred with
GAO's recommendations but, in some
instances, proposed alternatives for
executing the recommendations.
View GAO-12-74
For more information, contact Frank Rusco at
(202) 512-3841 or ruscof@gao.gov.What GAO Found
Over the past decade, the executive branch has taken steps to improve the
management of used federal electronics. Notably, in 2003, EPA helped to pilot
the Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC)-a voluntary partnership program that
encourages federal facilities and agencies to purchase environmentally friendly
electronic products, reduce the impacts of these products during their use, and
manage used electronics in an environmentally safe way. EPA also led an effort
and provided initial funding to develop third-party certification so that electronics
recyclers could show that they are voluntarily adhering to an adopted set of best
practices for environmental protection, worker health and safety, and security
practices. In 2006, GSA issued its Personal Property Disposal Guide to assist
agencies in understanding the hierarchy for disposing of excess personal
property, including used electronic products: reutilization, donation, sale, and
abandonment or destruction. In 2007 and 2009, executive orders were issued
that, among other things, established improvement goals and directed agencies
to develop and implement improvement plans for the management of used
electronics. The Office of Management and Budget, the Council on
Environmental Quality, and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive
each play important roles in providing leadership, oversight, and guidance to
assist federal agencies with implementing the requirements of these executive
orders. To lay the groundwork for enhancing the federal government's
management of used electronic products, an interagency task force issued the
July 2011 National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship. The strategy, which
describes goals, action items, and projects, assigns primary responsibility for
overseeing or carrying out most of the projects to either EPA or GSA.
Federal agencies have made some progress to improve their management of
used electronic products, as measured by greater participation in the FEC and an
increase in certified electronics recyclers, but opportunities exist to expand their
efforts. For instance, agency participation in the FEC represents only about one-
third of the federal workforce. GAO identified challenges with the tracking and
reporting on the disposition of federal electronic equipment. For the five agencies
GAO reviewed (Departments of Defense, Energy, Education, and Housing and
Urban Development and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration),
data provided on the disposition of electronic products were inconsistent, which
hampered GAO's efforts to accurately assess the extent to which electronic
products procured by federal agencies are disposed of in an environmentally
sound manner. Challenges associated with clarifying agencies' responsibility for
used electronics sold through auctions also remain. Currently, neither the agency
nor the auction entities are required to determine whether purchasers follow
environmentally sound end-of-life practices. Not having controls over the ultimate
disposition of electronics sold through these auctions creates opportunities for
buyers to purchase federal electronics and export them to countries with less
stringent environmental and health standards. Other challenges that may impede
progress toward improving federal agencies' management of used electronics
include defining key terms such as "electronic product" and "environmentally
sound practices," as each agency uses its own definition of electronic products to
report progress in implementing policies for electronics stewardship.United States Government Accountability Office
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Electronic Waste: Actions Needed to Provide Assurance That Used Federal Electronics Are Disposed of in an Environmentally Responsible Manner, report, February 17, 2012; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc297707/m1/2/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.