| Tossing Cell Phones in the Trash is Illegal in California!
By James
Mosieur
On February 9th 2006 the
State of California banned
the disposal of electronic
devices, including cell phones,
in household trash. CellForCash.com
helps you stay out of hot
water in California.
The issue of e-waste is heating
up all across the country.
It started with community disposal
bans and has now spread to
statewide disposal bans. There
are even legislative moves
afoot to mandate e-waste recycling
nationwide.
At the center of the issue
is your old computer. For years
computer monitors have been
banned from landfills in many
places across the country.
But another device is quickly
taking center stage – the
ubiquitous cell phone.
There are nearly 200 million
cell phone users in the US
all of whom upgrade their old
cell phone, on the average,
every 18 months. This means
that more than 11 million cell
phones are retired every month
in the US alone. As of this
writing less than 5% of these
phones are collected for reuse
and recycling.
Some claim that because of
the small size of the average
cell phone it’s easy
for a consumer to simply trash
it. Maybe one person trashing
a cell phone doesn’t
seem like much but surveys
suggest that each of the 200
million cell phone subscribers
have 2.5 old cell phones shoved
in a desk drawer or stored
in a closet somewhere in their
home or office.
Imagine if all those cell
phones, 500 million in all,
were discarded in household
trash over the course of a
year. Over 80,000 tons of additional
waste would be generated. This
is not common household waste
that becomes fertilizer. It
has the potential to pollute.
It is common knowledge that
electronic waste, or e-waste,
contains toxins that are harmful
to the environment. Electronic
circuit boards in cell phones
contain toxins such as arsenic,
cadmium, lead, and mercury;
just to name a few. Research
has shown that cell phones,
when disposed in landfill conditions,
leach hazardous levels of lead.
Programs banning electronic
devices from regular trash
pickups are becoming more common
throughout the country. There
is even national recycling
legislation being proposed
to combat the problem. A couple
of communities are leading
the way.
Since October 1st, 2005 King County, WA has prohibited residents from putting out old cell phones, or other electronic devices, for regular trash pickup. Officials say the county's Cedar Hill Landfill could become contaminated by the toxic heavy metals that exist in cell phones, computers and other electronic items.
On February 9th 2006 the State
of California banned the disposal
of cell phones in household
trash. Instead, residents must
recycle their old cell phones
at local landfills.
“The good news is that
most hazardous waste items
can be recycled for free” said
Jennifer Caldwell, Waste Reduction
Coordinator for Yolo County
California. Caldwell said that
residents can drop off their
recyclable items at the landfill.
Westchester County, NY will
soon require that consumers
recycle their cell phones.
While other communities have
not mentioned fines, Westchester
residents will have to pay
up to $250 on anyone caught
putting a phone in the trash.
Industry is getting involved – creating
solutions rather than just
problems. Refurbishing and
recycling cell phones, a growing
business, is a step in the
right direction. Attempts are
also underway to replace lead
with a less toxic substance
in the manufacturing process.
But until then something needs
to be done and cell phone recycling
is the best solution. So the
next time you retire your old
friend, don’t banish
him to your household hinterlands,
make an effort to recycle.
It’s great for the environment
and your wallet.
James Mosieur is CEO of RMS Communications Group, Inc. RMS operates several cell phone recycling websites like www.CellForCash.com. He has been in the electronics recycling business since 1985. James writes and speaks on cell phone recycling and related subjects particularly as they relate to the individual consumer.
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