The Environmental Protection Agency reports that in 2005, discarded electronics amounted to approximately 1.9 to 2.2 million tons. Of that amount, only about 15% was recycled.

As of 2008, fourteen states have passed legislation concerning e-waste. Thirteen of these states use a program known as “Extended Producer Responsibility” or EPR, making producers responsible for waste management for their products (called “takeback” programs). California incorporates a program called an Advanced Recycling Fee or ARF, which as the name implies, charges the consumer an extra percentage to cover end-of-life-cycle disposal.

Other states are also considering legislation that would make either consumers or manufacturers pay for the disposal of the products they use or produce.

The reasoning behind the legislation that would require electronics manufacturers to be responsible for the waste produced is that it would cause companies to innovate and create products that are more environmentally friendly when manufactured. According to Sheila Dormody, of the organization Clean Water Action in Rhode Island, “Once you make the manufacturers responsible for the collection and recycling of these types of products, the more incentive they have to design them more cleanly.”

Other concerns include the prevention of discarded electronics being disposed of in overseas countries, where worker safety and environmental standards are minimal or non-existent.

A group called the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimate that as much as 80% of e-waste is shipped to developing countries for disposal because of a lack of environmental protection and worker safety laws that reduce costs for domestic e-waste recyclers.

The United Nations has also begun a global initiative to deal with the growing problem of e-waste. The Basel convention, an international agreement adopted by the UN to stop the exportation of e-waste to developing countries, now has 156 countries as signees. The European Union and the United States have reportedly signed this agreement, but the US has not yet ratified the agreement.

The UN's recycling standard reportedly also includes existing product life extension and the establishing of a market for second-hand electronics.