February 13, 2024

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Senator Cowles Applauds Senate Passage of

Bill to Improve Wisconsin Electronics Recycling

MADISON – Senator Robert Cowles (R-Green Bay) released the following statement after Senate Bill 866, which he authored with Representative Jeff Mursau, passed the Senate on a 32-0 vote during Tuesday’s floor session period:

“Since its enactment in 2010, the E-Cycle Wisconsin program has kept hundreds of millions of pounds of electronic waste out of our state’s landfills and reutilized it into new devices. Senate Bill 866 simply makes a series of revisions that came to us from stakeholders intent on keeping the program and its operations as effective as possible. Updating our electronic recycling laws will keep the E-Cycle Wisconsin program modern and more workable for collectors, recyclers, manufacturers, and consumers alike.”

Senate Bill 866 makes a series of changes to current statutes overseeing the E-Cycle Wisconsin program. Under this bill, the annual manufacturer recycling target is amended, per a recommendation from the Department of Natural Resources, to make the target more realistic and prevent the need for shortfall penalties. This legislation also changes necessary reporting requirements, slightly increases registration fees, updates the eligible list of collected electronics, and requires rulemaking to provide more clarity on shortfall penalties to program participants.

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