Recycling Used Cell Phones

Neither the U.S. or Canada mandates electronics recycling of any kind at the federal level, but a few states and provinces are getting into the act at their own initiative. California recently passed the first cell phone recycling law in North America. As of July 1, 2006, electronics retailers doing business there must have a cell phone recycling system in place in order to legally sell their products, whether online or in-store. Other U.S. states considering similar legislation include Illinois, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Virginia, while the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick are likely to jump on the mandatory cell phone recycling bandwagon soon.