First Cell-Phone Recycling Law Passes in California

California has become the first state in the nation to make cellular phone stores recycle the devices for free. The legislation, signed into law this week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, requires companies that sell mobile phones to recycle returned handsets.

CUrrently fewer than 5 percent are recycled in California, however, and millions end up yearly in landfills. Their circuit boards contain myriad toxins such as arsenic, lead and mercury, and have the potential to be released into the air and groundwater when burned in incinerators or disposed of in landfills.

Under the legislation signed yesterday, retailers would have to offer free recycling by July 2006. This measure will help ensure that tens of thousands of toxic cell phones that are discarded every day in California are recycled. This bill may have nationwide implications.