Last updated April 12, 2019
Most Americans are aware to some extent that recycling of electronics such as computers and cell phones no longer needed is good for the environment. Not only does it help to prevent the contamination of soil and water resources, it also means that fewer raw materials will have to be mined in ecologically sensitive areas. Relatively few consumers, however, have probably considered the issue the way that lawmakers in Colorado have done this month: as a jobs initiative.
The Colorado State Senate has approved a new bill called the Electronic Recycling Jobs Act. According to Gail Schwartz, the Democrat from Snowmass Village who sponsored the legislation, the proposed law “creates new opportunities for the recycling and responsible disposal of the electronics we all enjoy, while reducing waste, protecting our groundwater and recovering resources… It’s important [that] we don’t put jobs and resources in the trash can.”
A Cisco research study has indicated that more than 50 billion electronic mobile devices, cell phones included, will exist on the planet by the year 2020. That year looks like it must be far in the future, but when you consider that we are already in 2012, you will realize that it is right around the corner.
Coloradans and others do not need to wait for the act to become law, of course. We can all do the right thing immediately and look for easy cell phone recycle programs online.