Requiring the recycling of computer and television monitors – and having manufacturers cover most of the cost – has diverted tons of lead from Maine landfills while saving residents money. As the country marks Earth Day, the state’s e-waste program can offer a model for the handling of other products that contain hazardous materials or that can be reused or remade into other items.

According to a report released last week by the Natural Resources Council of Maine, more than 174,000 computers and TVs have been collected since the state’s e-waste law went into effect in January 2006. In July 2006, the state banned the disposal of computer monitors and TVs in landfills.

This has prevented up to 1.4 million pounds of lead and significant amounts of other toxins such as mercury and cadmium from entering landfills and incinerators. Because many communities previously charged between $15 and $25 per unit to dispose of computers and TVs, this has saved Mainers about $1.4 million a year. Manufacturers are billed for the cost of disposing of their electronic products, but some communities still charge a fee for handling this material. The vast majority charge less than $5.

Maine was the first state to pass such an e-waste law. Since then, 11 other states have done so, and legislation is pending in 15 others.

Because technology improves rapidly, consumer electronics have become the fastest growing segment of the U.S. waste stream. Although the overall municipal waste volume is declining, e-waste grew by nearly 8 percent from 2004 to 2005, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Television disposal is expected to increase with the conversion to all digital transmission in 2009.

Older television and computer monitors made with tubes contain between 4 and 8 pounds of lead. Nationwide, only 12.5 percent of discarded electronics were collected for recycling.

Another benefit of programs like Maine’s is that they encourage companies to use less toxic material in their products since they are now responsible for the cost of disposal of their discarded products.

To tackle the problem of plastic shopping bags, which are made from scarce petroleum and pose a threat to wildlife, Maine lawmakers set an ambitious goal of reducing their use by half by today. While that goal won’t be met, the resolve passed last month by the Legislature sends an important message.

Currently, only about 10 percent of Maine shoppers bring their own bags and less than 5 percent of plastic shopping bags are recycled. This means 300 million bags end up in landfills, tangled in trees, choking waterways and littering roadsides in Maine. More than 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away annually in the United States. A small fraction are recycled into decking, outdoor furniture and other plastic products.

San Francisco, South Africa and Rwanda have banned plastic bags, and they are being phased out in Paris and parts of Canada and Australia. Several international retailers have begun charging for plastic bags. San Francisco’s ban is expected to save more than 400,000 gallons of petroleum a year.

The simplest alternative is to purchase reusable bags – for sale at most grocery and many retail stores – for a few dollars. Do it for Earth Day.