California signs mobile phone recycling bill into law

With legislation passed late last week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California became the first U.S. state to require that retailers of new wireless phones implement systems to collect used mobile devices for recycling.

Bill AB 2901, a.k.a. the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004, makes it unlawful for retailers to sell mobile phones without installing point-of-purchase mechanisms to collect old devices for reuse, recycling or environmentally sound disposal.

The legislation, which goes into effect on July 1, 2006, was introduced in February by California Assemblywomen Fran Pavley and Christine Kehoe. At the time she and Kehoe introduced the bill, Pavley said almost 45,000 cell phones are thrown away each day in California, and that the arsenic, lead and mercury present in their circuitry represent "a serious threat to human health and our environment."

The bill also requires that the California Department of Toxic Substances must introduce by July 1, 2007, a Web site posting the state’s estimated cell phone recycling rate.