Recycle Your Phone - Law Says You HAVE To
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008Mobile Phone Clamp Down - Recycling Becoming Mandatory
Mobile Phone Clamp Down - Recycling Becoming Mandatory by Rick Hendershot
Westchester County in New York will soon be one of the first places in the U.S. to require consumers to recycle their old cell phones. The legislation will be backed up by fines of up to $250 for people caught trashing their old phones.
Jurisdictions across the country have been wrestling with the problem of outdated phones ending up in landfills and being burned in incinerators. The phones contain harmful chemicals and heavy metals like arsenic, zinc, copper and lead.
Many areas of the country have voluntary recycling programs. Most put the onus on cell phone retailers to recycle phones when new ones are purchased. But the New York county law is one of the first that makes it mandatory for consumers to recycle their old phones — and backs it up with fines.
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