CNET followed the last day of an analog TV's life as it was being recycled.
(Credit: Erik Palm/CNET)On June 12, the U.S. makes its long-anticipated shift to digital television. As that changeover prompts consumers to ditch their old analog TV sets in favor of more modern devices, environmental organizations such as Greenpeace are warning of a surge in e-waste.
"We are seeing now a huge anticipated spike in the amount of electronic waste, really a tsunami of electronic waste coming through because of this digital transition," said Casey Harrell, a Greenpeace International campaigner.
And it's not just that the old television sets are piling up--as with scrapped PCs and printers, there's also the danger that they'll be exported to places with lax or nonexistent environmental safeguards.
"We're seeing a new wave of electronic waste that's ending up on the shores of India, China, West Africa, and Latin America," Harrell said.
E-waste often contains toxic metals such as cadmium, lead, and mercury, along with flame retardant chemicals that can accumulate in the body and potentially cause reproductive and neurological harm.
In the face of those concerns, some businesses are now promising to recycle your TV properly.
CNET News followed one aging analog TV as it headed to the next world, making its own transition from consumer electronics device to scrap metal and other parts. We met Mark Salvador as he was leaving his old Symphonic TV at a Waste Management site in San Leandro, Calif.
"The remote is not working, and the picture is not good. That is why we buy a new TV," Salvador said.
Salvador's TV set is transported from collector Waste Management to E-Recycling of California, in Hayward, south of Oakland. E-Recycling of California has pledged not to burn, dump, or export the waste, and for that reason it has received E-Stewards certification from the Basel Action Network, a watchdog group.
"We are actually dismantling it down into commodities...Everything's going at a commodity level on to be further recycled," Russ Caswell, manager at E-Recycling, explained. "A plastic-based television (is) 100 percent (recyclable). About the only thing on any television that doesn't always get totally recycled or reused would be a wooden case from an old console TV."
Ivan Tego of E-Recycling of California dismantles an analog TV.
(Credit: Erik Palm/CNET)So what can you do to avoid contributing to the wave of electronic waste from the digital transition?
First, Greenpeace says, consider whether you really need a new TV. A digital converter box, subsidized by the government, can keep your old TV alive a few more years. Alternatively, the TV could continue its useful life for a while longer if you donate it to a charitable organization--the Environmental Protection Agency lists a number that will take the devices.
If you do decide to recycle the old TV, first go to the TV manufacturer's Web site for recycling information. (PC makers and retailers also offer recycling programs.) If you head to a recycling facility, make sure that the recycler has E-Stewards certification.
More information on recycling from EPA can be found here.
How to best recycle electronics is a problem I've had to deal with more than a few times at CNET. I have to be honest, during busy work cycles, the garbage bin has looked very appealing as an easy out when an obsolete laptop or graphics card needs discarding.
Luckily for me, and my relatively weak will, more companies are starting to provide support for consumers that want to dispose of their old electronics with a clear conscience. On Thursday, Panasonic announced that it is creating a nationwide program designed to provide consumers "convenient and easy" recycling of Panasonic branded TVs and other consumer electronics from the company.
The program will roll out in 10 states with more than 160 drop-off locations on November 1, 2008. Consumers seeking to dispose of their Panasonic branded equipment can do so free of charge. During the next three years, Panasonic plans to expand the program to all 50 states.
According to Panasonic, promoting employee and public awareness of environmental responsibility is one central element of its worldwide environmental initiatives. The company also pledges to reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions by 300,000 tons by 2010 and to introduce products that are easier to recycle and increasingly more energy efficient.
Additional details on the program's expansion will be announced in January.
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
At 26 inches for an LCD TV, you might sniff at its puny dimensions. But Sharp's shining some light on this particular flat panel, literally.
Its 26-inch LCD TV, showcased at this week's G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, is powered by solar energy. The set was designed specifically for developing nations where the nearest AC mains are probably a town away. Sharp claims its experimental eco outing guzzles 30 percent less power than its low-power rival, though no names were mentioned.
While the TV is intended for those earning less than $2 a day, its specs are far from the worst: It's a svelte 20 millimeters thin, with a decent 10,000:1 contrast ratio that's not out of place in a middle-class home. Whether this eventually makes it into the global marketplace remains to be seen, though the idea of an accompanying 26-inch solar panel to power a similar-sized TV will likely limit its appeal on a broader scale.
(Source: Crave Asia)
Three of the biggest makers of TVs have formed a company to help manage the wave of electronics waste set to swell with the onset of digital television. Panasonic, Sharp, and Toshiba have launched the Manufacturers Recycling Management Co. in Minnesota.
That state last year enacted a law making vendors responsible for their brands' discarded electronics. MRM contracts with third-party recyclers including CRT Processing and Materials Processing Corporation, which specialize in handling tired monitors and televisions.
Old televisions and monitors are laced with lead, cadmium, and toxic flame retardants, but careful recycling can recover valuable and reusable metals and plastics.
Since September, MRM has collected some 750 tons of TVs, PCs, audio equipment, fax machines, and other gear through events such as Plug-In to eCycling programs managed by the EPA and more than 20 tech vendors and stores.
MRM has recycling agreements with vendors including Hitachi, JVC, Mitsubishi, Philips, and Pioneer. The company, which currently has just one employee, plans to make money through fees from manufacturers seeking help to cope legally with cast-off electronics.
MRM is set to expand within the next year in Connecticut, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington states, and possibly in other states in coming years.
Some 35 states are mulling individual e-waste recycling laws, to the dismay of much of the electronics industry. The Consumer Electronics Association has campaigned for national laws to replace the state-by-state patchwork of regulations. That group runs the Consumer Electronics Show being held this week in Las Vegas, where news of MRM's launch was announced.
"We do desire a federal program and will continue to work toward that," said Christopher Loncto, a spokesman for Sharp.
New rules in Minnesota, for one, appear to be driving up recycling rates there. At the Mall of America in November, for instance, organizers concerned about the danger of traffic jams canceled an e-waste recycling drive that drew overwhelming crowds.
As big brand names try to manage the growing tide of e-waste, small-time entrepreneurs also hope to profit by giving new life to old gadgets. New Web-based companies such as BuyMyTronics and Second Rotation offer to buy people's old iPods and mobile phones.
(Credit:
GOOD Magazine)
I've been curious recently about how much electricity all our devices that stay plugged in all the time and in some sort of standby mode consume, even when we are not actually using them. And what does that translate into in terms of real money?
Coincidentally, GOOD Magazine has created this handy chart that graphically depicts the impact.
The real surprise on it is plasma TVs--who knew they were sucking so much energy when "off"? And that game console of yours? It's costing you $25 a year just sitting there, even when you're not using it. Have more than one console? Well, do the math...
The chart does not include all the wall-warts for cell phones, laptops, cameras, and the like that tend to stay plugged into the wall (and consuming some amount of electricity) even when not actually charging their devices. By some estimates these are responsible for 4 percent of all U.S. electricity consumption, equivalent to almost 100 million tons of oil. Hmm, no wonder the U.S. is 5 percent of the world's population but consumes 23 percent of its energy...
Digital TV will bring a new world of entertainment to consumers and generate a big honking pile of electronic waste.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Roughly 80 million analog TVs will get heaved out in 2008 and 2009, according to John Shegerian, CEO of Electronic Recyclers (ER), one of the largest e-waste recyclers in the U.S., and someone is going to have to dispose of those old TVs properly. The glass in the tube consists of about 22 percent lead.
Even without the digital TV mandate (which kicks in on February 17, 2009), the e-recycling business is booming. Roughly 65 million pounds of e-waste was recycled in 2005 in California alone after the state passed a recycling law and the figure shot up to 120 million pounds in 2006. More than 200 million pounds will be recycled in the state this year, he added.
Minnesota and Massachusetts have passed laws mandating e-waste recycling, and more laws are on the way. Approximately 35 other states are now tinkering with laws.
"E-waste bans are going to become mandatory," he said, during a presentation and hallway meeting at the ThinkGreen conference taking place in San Francisco.
ER has seen its revenues double every year for the past four years. Roughly half the revenue comes from recycling fees paid by states or large corporations to the company to dispose of waste. The other half comes from selling the indium, glass, lead, and other materials that come out of the recycling process.
"Everything in your cell phone or TV is reusable," he said.
The company has two facilities in the country, one in California and one in Massachusetts, but it plans to expand elsewhere.
One of the stumbling blocks has been getting people to understand e-waste laws, he acknowledged. Then there is the collection problem. A lot of people just leave this stuff in their garage. ER collects it itself but also has teamed up with Goodwill Industries. Serving as a collector netted the charity $1 million in recycling fees in California, he added.
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