Last updated April 12, 2019
Those wishing to recycle old cell phones, along with other electrical goods, in California now have a much easier time of it than ever before. Over nine and a half million households in the US state, more than eighty-three percent, are now within ten miles or less of their nearest drop-off point where they can safely dispose of used cell phones and other forms of waste for the purposes of recycling. Even better, around seven million of those, around six out of every ten households, is actually within five miles. There are now no less than two hundred and thirty-five collection points for e-waste throughout California.
“We set out to serve almost all California households within a ten mile service area because we knew that if we make it easy for people to drop off their unwanted electronics. We can help eliminate the e-waste that ends up in our landfills or that gets exported for unsafe dismantling and processing,” says Jim Taggart, the president of ECS Refining, the company, which is in charge of the major “ecollective initiative” which began in California four months ago in November 2010. “Today’s statistics show that we’re very close to achieving that goal, and demonstrate that we have a successful e-waste recycling model that can be expanded to other states.” ECS Refining has acquired an enviable reputation for its responsible recycling practices and environmental ethics, and has just announced the purchase of a facility in Stockton that will become a new recycling collection site.