Which US States Made it Illegal to Throw Away Electronics and Why?

For these reasons, 28 US states, including California, New York, and Texas, have passed e-waste laws that made it illegal for consumers to throw away their old and damaged electronics in the trash.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Every year, a major flagship phone drops, and every year, many consumers discard their used devices to upgrade to the latest model. Sure, some of these outdated gadgets get handed down to family and friends, while other owners repurpose old home tech as alarm clocks or media centers. But for those electronics that have reached the end of their lifespan, they usually just end up in the trash.

This, however, isn't exactly the best way to dispose of electronic waste for various reasons. For one, e-waste contains heavy metals and other hazardous substances. If these get in contact with soil and water or are incinerated and ultimately fill the air, they can have a negative effect on our health and the environment. Devices with Li-ion batteries can be a fire hazard if dumped improperly as well.

When you throw away old electronics, you also waste the components (e.g., gold, copper) that can still be extracted for reuse in new devices. This then requires raw materials to be processed, putting more toll on the already limited natural resources. Then, of course, there's also the issue of the dumped devices adding to the ever-growing e-waste volume that needs to be managed. In fact, according to the UN Institute for Training and Research in 2022, the US is the second-biggest generator of e-waste in the world after China, producing almost 16 billion pounds.

For these reasons, 28 US states, including California, New York, and Texas, have passed e-waste laws that made it illegal for consumers to throw away their old and damaged electronics in the trash.

E-waste is more important than you realize and poses significant problems for both humans and the environment. To help in managing it, of the 50 US states, more than half (plus the District of Columbia) require consumers by law to recycle their electronics instead of simply throwing them in the bin. These states include:

Northeast region: Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont

Midwest region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin

South region: Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia

West region: California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Utah

Some states, although lacking an e-waste recycling law, have still made it illegal to discard certain electronics in incinerators and landfills. Among these states are New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Colorado. 

Courtesy: www.slashgear.com