Students Of Success

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 http://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.