Recycling Fee On Monitors?

[socalcyclist]

I was all set to buy a 19" LCD, ViewSonic VA912B-4 color, for $249.95 from Buy.com till I get to the very end and they throw in an $8.00 recycling fee. I'm thinking what the heck is this crap? Do all online retailers charge this? I purposely went through the checkout process at Newegg and there was no recycling fee added. Yea, it's only $8 but when you spend an hour checking every conceivable website for the best price with tax and shipping and then you get the end and it's suddenly more than it's supposed to be it's just not cool.

Anyway, is this a normal practice now? If so then why not at Newegg? Here's there official explanation at buy.com:
"A California statute requires us to assess an electronic waste recycling fee on purchases of certain electronic products that are shipped to or picked up at California addresses. The fee is collected at the point of sale and sent to the State of California in accordance with statutory requirements.
Recycling fees are charged on all computer monitors (CRT and LCD), CRT televisions, laptop computers and other CRT-based devices. Fees range from $6 to $10 depending on screen size (measured diagonally).
The amount of the recycling fee will be refunded if you choose to return the product.
Visit http://www.erecycle.org or call the Board of Equalization at 1-800-400-7115. "

Oops, this probaby should have went in video.

 

[JEDIYoda]

yep..thats correct!!!!

 

[n7]

We have the ADS (advance disposal surcharge) fees in Alberta here too.

$10 on PCs, $12 on monitors, $8 printers/AIOs, & different fees for TVs, etc.

 

[MeltedPanzy]

unless this money is actually going somewhere fund the disposal of consumer electronics and pc's, thats messed up. as you know they contain quite a bit of harsh pollutants like cianide and lead which requires proper disposal or it'll end up in rivers and streams

 

[furballi]

Another scam by those in CA to nickel and dime consumers. The state also charges $8 for a smog certificate AND $3 to electronically register the smog check. Talking about double dipping! Only in the land of fruitcakes.

 

[cambo357]

yep, this is standard for us now. and the fee depends on the size of the display, too. the bigger it is, the more it costs. I was shocked when I bought a little tiny 5" TV for my mom (emergency office usage). it was priced at like $15, but the total came to $26 or so. flipped me out, the fee was half the cost of the TV itself. go figure.

-Cambo

 

[IamDonSharp]

If you say newegg doesn't do that it's probably because they ship from all over the country, and have their monitors purposly shipped from another location, such as Kansas or New Jersey so those fee's aren't collected. Newegg loves their customers.

DonSharp

 

[Luckyboy1]

The toxicity of making computer parts makes nuclear waste look like soft drinks by comparison. At least nuclear waste degrades over time and many of the toxic compounds produced, not just as a final result, but as byproducts of the process in making computer parts degrade so slowly, that the earth stands a better chance of slowing to a stop as far as spinning before the offending m,aterial breaks down even one stage, much less to something that's not lethal!

 

[cyberknight]

i guess we can blame those people who smash up monitors for fun instead of recycling them properly.

 

[dwcal]

It's not that bad a deal because it pays for free e-waste recycling. CRTs contain a lot of lead in the tubes. You don't want that sitting in a landfill. Check how much recyclers in other states charge to dispose of a CRT. If you had to pay $10 to get rid of a broken monitor, someone might be tempted to dump in the the garbage.

It is pretty bogus to charge $6 a small 5" LCD screen though.