The new bill, approved in a 44-3 vote, punishes manufacturers for failing to reach collection rates for an electronic recycling program.

The City Council overrode on Wednesday Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto of a bill forcing manufacturers to take back electronic goods sold when customers are finished with them.

The 44-3 vote, overriding the mayor’s “e-waste” bill veto, punishes manufacturers for failing to reach collection rates for an electronic recycling program established by a separate council bill last month. The original bill, sponsored by Bill de Blasio, D-Brooklyn, was split into two parts so the mayor could approve the bill with the provisions he liked.

After the mayor and council reaped some publicity for passing the first bill, the council moved ahead with the second, Intro. 729, which supporters say gave “teeth” to the recycling program.

“The benchmarks in the bill would hold manufacturers responsible by making sure they collect a minimum amount of the covered electronic products they sell in the city,” said Kate Sinding, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which pushed for the bill. “The performance standards in Intro. 729 are reasonable, achievable and perfectly legal. We believe they would easily survive any court challenge.”

Nonetheless, a lawsuit from electronics manufacturers is expected.

Similar laws have been enacted in several other cities. Environmentalists say they are needed because many electronics contain harmful materials, such as mercury, that pose a danger when they are merely dumped into landfills.

Source: Crains