by Jeff Mason

Created on: December 31, 2008

The OEMs and, therefore, the 'consumers' should pay for the cost of e-waste.

If the OEMs pay the e-waste fees, then the OEMs will raise the product cost that the wholesalers pay for the manufactured products. In turn, this higher wholesale cost will be passed along to the retailers. This means that, At the final point of product purchase, the 'consumer' ends up paying for e-waste, if the OEM incurs the up-front cost of that waste.

Therefore, yes, the OEMs should pay for the e-waste, but then we consumers will end up paying for that e-waste through higher retail prices; and that is as it should be.

In the US economy, here is the basic "raw product to consumer market channel" breakdown:

1) The OEM (the manufacturer) creates/builds a needed product (or one that is in demand).

2) The wholesaler purchases and distributes that product to the various appropriate retail outlets.

3) The retail outlets then sell the finished, marked-up product to the consumer (a.k.a. the end-user).

Along that infamous channel of "getting the product from the raw material into the consumer's hands," all manufacturing, packaging, marketing, advertising and sales costs, in some form or fashion, ultimately are passed along to the consumer. Therefore, OEM payment of any e-waste cost is the appropriate way to absorb and distribute such cost in our market-driven economy.

As it stands now, the consumer alone is bearing this unexpected cost. As an example, ask yourself: "What did I do with my last outdated monitor, computer, large-screen television or other electronic device?" Assuming you are the typical 'responsible citizen,' you likely took such devices to an e-waste disposal facility or, if you are fortunate, your city or municipality has a government-sponsored e-waste drop-off location. In most cases, such e-waste disposal, even the ones that are government-run, require that the consumer pay some small fee to drop off the e-waste.

If the consumer alone pays the e-waste fees, then the OEM escapes what rightfully should be part of its cost of doing business. If the OEM pays the e-waste cost, that cost then will get properly spread along the product chain to the consumer. Additionally, if the OEM incurs the up-front cost, such cost is more easily and readily absorbed and is more evenly spread among the consuming end-users.

In conclusion, requiring the consumer to pay e-waste costs is unfair and one-sided; therefore, yes, the OEMs should pay the e-waste fees, by building such costs into the overall product manufacturing cost.

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