The Responsible Electronic Recycling Act, introduced in the House of Representatives Wednesday, would create a new category of restricted electronic waste that cannot be exported to India, China, Nigeria and other nations. The bill aims to stop U.S. companies from dumping dangerous old electronics on countries where they are broken apart or burned by workers using few safety precautions, said Representative Gene Green, a Texas Democrat and cosponsor of the bill.

In some countries, workers burn electronics in open pits as a way to separate materials, said Representative Mike Thompson, a California Democrat and cosponsor of the bill. In some places, children tear apart e-waste from the U.S., he said.

Children are "picking through this stuff and exposing themselves to dangerous chemicals," Thompson said during a press conference. "It's just an absolute mess."

The bill will create "green" jobs in the U.S. by keeping e-waste recycling processes in the country, Green said. "There's a value in used electronic equipment, and currently, there are small, domestic recyclers that process this equipment safely," he said. "But they have a hard time competing with facilities overseas that have few, if any, environmental and safety standards."

Many U.S. e-waste recyclers take the valuable parts from discarded electronic devices and then ship the rest overseas, said Dewayne Burns, CEO of eSCO Processing and Recycling in Arkansas. Loopholes in e-waste export laws discourage more responsible recyclers from getting into e-waste services, he said.