Bloomberg's Personal Stake in Stopping NYC's Electronics Recycling Bill

Last week, the New York City Council passed an electronics recycling bill that would make e-waste recycling mandatory and place responsibility for collecting and recycling discarded items on manufacturers.

Council Member Bill De Blasio, lead sponsor of the bill, provided this rationale:

New York City annually disposes of more than 25,000 tons of discarded TVs, computers and other electronic equipment, which contain mercury, lead, cadmium and other hazardous materials that not only endanger sanitation workers but contaminate our landfills, our water, and our air. It is time for manufacturers to take responsibility for the impact their products have on our environment.

Though the bill would make New York the first city in the nation to enact such a measure, ten states including New Jersey and Connecticut have already passed similar legislation. Even Apple, a target of environmental campaigns for its ‘iwaste,’ supports the City Council's bill.

You'd think Mike Bloomberg, America's climate action mayor, the man behind PlaNYC and GreeNYC, would be a staunch supporter. Not so. He's vowed to veto the bill, arguing it is illegal to put the recycling responsibility on manufacturers. He's so adamant about his position that he said if his veto is overridden, he will not enforce the law. So there.

What gives?

Maybe it’s not the Mayor that wants to veto this bill, but the man behind the Bloomberg Terminal—the Bloomberg corporation's computer system which enables users access to real-time financial data -- who wants to.

That souped-up black box—available only to customers who subscribe to the Bloomberg Professional Service, which costs up to $1,800 per month—has adjustable monitors, a fingerprint scanner, and a microphone for speaking to other users.

Over 300,000 people use the terminals, and Bloomberg Professional Service has a whole line of electronic gadgetry including the Bloomberg Keyboard, Bloomberg B-Unit and Bloomberg Fon for audio and video communication.

If this electronics recycling law is enacted, who would be responsible for the fate of the Bloomberg’s electronic devices?

Perhaps he needs to be reminded that GreeNYC’s message to the residents of NY applies to him, too.

Mayor Bloomberg can’t reach the target of reducing carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 without you.

Think about the emissions savings from keeping these items out of our waste stream. And better yet, if manufacturers salvage reusable materials from the discards, it would lessen the demand on energy intensive extractive industries.

And if those are not reasons enough, even the mere appearance of a conflict of interest, all by itself, is.

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