Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has rejected the initial proposal from Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management (MRM) to serve as the state’s producer responsibility organization (PRO) next year.
A letter sent to MRM from the DEQ in late August rejected the plans that were submitted in July; MRM was the only company to submit a 2027 proposal after filling the PRO role this year.
The DEQ cited several shortcomings with the 2027 proposal:
- It lacked a “comprehensive proposal” describing how MRM would conduct program education and public outreach.
- It requires information on how the program will ensure “sound management practices.”
- Updated details are needed to the proposed collection network; what was provided was deemed outdated.
- Clear, measurable goals are needed for collection, including amount collected and collection service usage rates, and public awareness maintenance.
The shortcomings were raised, in part, based on public feedback. Angie Marzano, waste reduction program supervisor for Lane County, said the proposal should establish expectations for pickup response times, collection site capacity and performance monitoring. The proposal also lacked minimum expectations for MRM to meet on several fronts, according to Tom Egleston, policy and program development manager for waste prevention and environmental services for Metro, the regional government branch responsible for portions of the Portland metropolitan area.
“Clear minimum expectations set a level playing field across collection sites, he wrote. “This clarity is especially needed as MRM lacks comprehensive procedures for escalating unresolved or urgent service issues, instead proposing that sites work directly with the transporter/processor should ‘issues’ arise.”
MRM beat out Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations to earn the right to run the E-Cycles program this year. MRM runs regulatory compliance electronics programs in 20 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.
The PRO is required under Oregon’s modernized electronics recycling program, which became law in 2023. Prior to then, a state contractor program collected and recycled electronics. MRM is a stewardship group that operated under the previous law as an alternative to the state contractor system.
MRM has until Oct. 9 to submit a revised proposal. MRM’s comments were withheld by DEQ, at MRM’s request, and the company hasn’t responded to a request for comment.
