Minnesota residents will soon have to pay electronics recycling fee, or risk paying fine

According to an article in the Bradenton Herald newspaper, dumping old TV sets or computer monitors in the garbage will be illegal in Minnesota starting July 1st, and residents will have to pay up to $111 to properly recycle the devices or pay a fine. The new law is intended to recover tons of lead and other hazardous materials that are inside the electronic devices. Environmentalists say the recycling fee should be charged to the consumer at the time of purchase, but lawmakers have faced stiff opposition to the at-purchase recycling fee for five years from electronics manufacturers, the paper says.