Key facts
- Half of the US has no e-waste laws.
- The other half has laws that are not standardized.
- Disagreements exist on what constitutes e-waste.
- Disagreements exist on who should pay for recycling.
Recycling old phones is a challenge across the United States due to a fragmented legal landscape. Approximately half of the country has no specific laws governing electronic waste (e-waste). In the states that do have e-waste legislation, there is a lack of consensus on what materials qualify as e-waste and who bears the financial responsibility for their recycling. This inconsistency across 25 different laws creates significant hurdles for effective and widespread recycling of electronic devices.