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 There are more than a billion cell phones in existence today. The photo at right represents a fraction of the 426,000 cell phones that are discarded in the United States — not every year or every month, or even every week — but every day.
Electronic waste (e-waste) is a big issue. California has a government-managed program established by SB 20 but many electronics uncovered by SB 20 are banned from the trash as Universal Waste. CPSC is exploring how SB 20 can transition to an EPR program.
The full producer responsibility approach requires brand owners to create a plan for how their spent products will be collected and recycled responsibly and at no cost to local government as a precondition for the right to sell products in a jurisdiction (like California). This is the approach taken in the Washington State e-waste law, the New York City e-waste bill, and in British Columbia (see below). Brand owners typically set up nonprofit Producer Responsibility (or Third Party) Organizations to do the actual take back; experience shows that costs are minimized if multiple PROs are permitted and competition is encouraged. Legislation to phase out or ban toxic chemicals -- like the RoHS legislation in EU -- is complementary to take back legislation.
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See the Basel Action Network's photo galleries for a look at the environmental and human impact of our electronic waste in China and Nigeria.
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