Mandatory cell phone recycling coming to Cali

California emissions standards are widely recognized as being among the most stringent in the automotive industry, forcing carmakers to design vehicles that burn as clean as possible. With so many residents flocking onto the interstate each morning, California legislators have worked hard to try to keep their state as green as possible, and now the focus has turned to our love for upgrading cell phones.

It turns out that in order to “Keep California Beautiful”, they’ve passed a law that forces retailers in California to establish a cell phone “collection and recycling program”. This is set to take effect on the first of July.

Recycling won’t cost you a penny, and if you’re not willing to walk into a brick and mortar store to get rid of your old handset, you can request a postage paid box from the KCB website. The same is true for corporate users: KCB will gladly send bigger boxes for all those obsolete BlackBerry devices. Where and how exactly they plan on “recycling” these phones remains to be seen.