(FPMI's FedNews OnLine, 1/05)

The Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded its first contracts to help all federal agencies with the environmentally responsible disposal of computers and other used electronic equipment. The Recycling Electronics and Asset Disposition program gives federal agencies a dependable way to properly recycle and dispose of excess or obsolete electronic equipment.

The government disposes of approximately 10,000 computers every week, many of which are ending up in storage closets, warehouses and landfills, or overseas where the environmental standards are generally lower. Electronic equipment contains toxic materials such as lead, mercury, chromium, cadmium and beryllium, which, if mishandled, could be released into the environment. This complex waste stream poses challenging management issues and potential liability concerns for federal facilities.

The basic contracts, awarded Dec. 16 to small businesses, are for one year with as many as four possible one-year extensions - a combined potential value of up to $9 million.

The contractors must maintain an audit trail to the equipment's final destination to ensure that reclamation and recycling efforts are documented. The contracts will also maximize revenues from usable electronic equipment currently in storage through a share-in-savings program. Under the share-in-savings program, the contractor will attempt to identify opportunities to save costs associated with recycling efforts and share those savings with federal agencies to offset the latter's recycling costs.

The government buys 7 percent of the world's computers. EPA expects federal agencies to spend almost $60 billion on information technology equipment, software, infrastructure and services in fiscal year 2005 alone.

For more information on the Recycling Electronics and Asset Disposition program, go to http://www.epa.gov/oamhpod1/admin_placement/0300115/fact.htm.