Where do the other phones and the Black Berrys go to Decompose?

After watching Terry Tempest William’s interview on campus, it made me want to learn more about e-waste, especially relevant to the use of cell phones.  From my research on the topic, I have realized that cell phones are giving computers and monitors some competition for the largest contributor to the world’s growing e-waste problem. It is becoming an extremely growing problem to have these toxic electronics clogging landfills and polluting our air and water supplies.

The average American gets a new cell phone every 18 to 24 months.  This is making old phones one of the largest toxic materials thrown out.  Many of these phones contain hazardous materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, flame retardants and arsenic.  According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans discard 125 million phones each year.  This means from cell phones alone, there is 65,000 tons of waste. I believe there needs to be more incentives available for people to keep their phones longer.

Luckily, like Terry Tempest Williams, there is a new breed of electronics recyclers that are stepping in to help.  Lee County has 731 tons of e-waste and there is no federal mandate to recycle electronics in Florida, but one place you can recycle your old cell phones is Call2Recycle.  It is a nonprofit organization that offers consumers and retailers in the United States and Canada simple ways to recycle old phones. Consumers can enter their zip code on the group’s website and be directed to a drop box in their area. Most major electronics retailers, like Best Buy also participate in programs that offer Call2Recycle drop-boxes in their stores. Call2Recycle recovers the phones and sells them back to manufacturers, which either refurbish and resell them or recycle their parts for use in making new products. This helps to reduce, reuse, and recycle; as well as properly disposing toxic chemicals.   

Neither the United States nor Canada currently mandates electronics recycling of any kind at the federal level, but a few states are getting into the act at their own initiative. California 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.  This is just a start to solving a problem that is in need of much attention.  We need more public policies on e-waste and consumers need to be more aware of e-waste.