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RECYCLING LAWS

Recycle your rechargeable batteries and cell phones. It’s the law!

State legal requirements for rechargeable batteries
Listed below are states with Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) and Small Sealed Lead (Pb) disposal bans. All end users are prohibited from throwing these chemistries in the trash, and instead must send them for recycling/proper disposal through manufacturer/distributor or other collection programs. Participation in the national RBRC program satisfies compliance with this law.

Florida	Minnesota
Iowa	New Jersey
Maine (government/industrial/communications/ medical employees or contractors)	Rhode Island
Maryland	Vermont

Listed below are states with disposal bans covering all types of lead batteries (including but not specifying Pb batteries). All end users are prohibited from throwing batteries in the trash, and must return them for recycling through retailers, distributors, or manufacturers or send directly to a secondary lead smelter. Participation in the national RBRC program is an easy way to comply.

Arizona	New Hampshire
Arkansas	New Mexico
California	North Carolina
Connecticut	North Dakota
Florida	Oregon
Hawaii	Pennsylvania
Indiana	South Carolina
Iowa	South Dakota
Kentucky	Texas
Louisiana	Utah
Maine	Vermont
Minnesota	Virgina
Mississippi	West Virginia
Missouri	Wisconsin
Nebraska	Wyoming

Listed below are states and municipalities/cities with disposal bans covering all types of rechargeable batteries. This includes Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion), and Small Sealed Lead (Pb). Retailers that sell rechargeable batteries are required to provide collection and recycling of these batteries for recycling, reuse, or proper disposal, at no cost to the consumer. RBRC’s program is an easy way to comply.

California

City of New York

Federal requirements for rechargeable batteries
Federal law requires, with certain exceptions, used Ni-Cd and Pb batteries to be managed as Universal Waste (40 CFR Part 273).

The Universal Waste Rule prohibits handlers (e.g., contractors) from disposing of waste Ni-Cd and Pb batteries and further indicates that these batteries must be sent for recycling.

Cell phone recycling laws
Listed below are states with disposal bans covering cell phones. Retailers that sell cell phones shall have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of used cell phones for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal. RBRC’s program is an easy way to comply

California

Maine

EPA Battery Alert
Download a PDF version of the EPA Battery Alert Booklet (.PDF, 64kb)