The Television Dilemma
Power to the Peeples is an exclusive Earth911 series written by Bob Peeples, our resident chemical engineer and Program Manager of Earth911’s sister site Beaches911. Bob combines his extensive knowledge of the environment and how things work with an off-the-cuff sense of humor.
You’ve seen the commercials, read the hype and maybe even investigated coupons for converter boxes. That’s right, the digital switch is coming (either this month or in June), for those who haven’t already switched already.
In honor of Groundhog Day, I think it’s time we replace all the digital switch preparation talk we’ve been experiencing over and over with information you may not have heard about switching to digital TV. For example:
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No matter if the digital switch 'spring' comes this month or in June, consumers may have a bigger problem on their hands when it comes to recycling TVs. - iwritenewyork.com
The first thing that we need to notice is that we’ve already spent the originally budgeted $1.3 billion earmarked for converter box coupons, and now the digital switch delay has been rejected by the House, but could be up for another vote. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we may just be in for another four months of analog TV.
- Not everyone will benefit from the digital converter box. Many people only receive UHF (those channels higher than 13), and will therefore need a different antenna.
- The “Digital Transition Content Security Act” was passed to open bandwidth for public service needs, yet the FCC has earned more than $20 billion on sales of that bandwidth to private companies such as cellular telephone providers.
Nobody seems to be as worried about the increased quality of transmission as the FCC. Think of it this way: if I can only afford to own a washer/dryer and a TV, should improved picture quality be on my list of priorities?
The Disposal Conundrum
So let’s say you can’t get a converter box and decide to spring for a new television. Unless you’re turning the old set into an aquarium, you’re now in need of a television recycler.
The irony here is that cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors are one of the most difficult electronic devices to recycle, as each contains up to eight pounds of lead in the tube. Liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs do not have this problem, but you probably also won’t find LCD screens without a digital tuner.
To take it one step further, more than 12 percent of Earth911’s listings for televisions have withdrawn this recycling service as of this writing. Simply put, many recyclers choose to not deal with them.
One primary example is Goodwill, where stores will frequently not accept donated CRT screens anymore, since the market for their resale is gone. Though some national take-back programs have increased in the past few weeks, there are limitations based on size and electronic type – and some programs charge a fee to recycle larger TVs.
In 50 years, we’ll all be telling our grandkids about the time before digital television when it was impossible with rabbit ears to tell the difference between Droopy and Snoopy. But for now, there are no guarantees the digital switch will be as painless as the cable companies have been saying.
Frank Martell
posted on February 7th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
This is one of the few times I would like to see the federal government step up and take care of all the old CRT tvs out there.They just love telling you to do the right thing and protect the environment then sit back and watch us waste our time looking for recycle facilities that don’t exist.
Sarah Davis
posted on February 13th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I work for a recycling company, and we are still accepting televisions and crt monitors. We do have to charge for them, because it cost so much to dispose of them properly. The problem is, people don’t want to pay $5.00-$10.00 to get rid of them the right way. They are all high and mighty about recycling until it comes down to paying to do it. Get over it and do the right thing, instead of telling me your just going to go throw it in the trash… Makes me sick….
Chuck
posted on February 20th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I recently got an email from BestBuy announcing their recycling service…
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=pcmcat149900050025&DCMP=category&ref=55&loc=20
“You trust us when it’s time to buy the latest electronics. You can also trust us to help you safely dispose of your old ones.
Now you can bring everything from TVs and computers to DVD players and more to any U.S. Best Buy store, and we’ll recycle it. Best Buy does not charge a fee for recycling most consumer electronics. However, we do charge $10 for TVs, CRTs, monitors and laptops, which is offset with a $10 gift card.
We accept up to two items per household per day.”
Mary Green MSN RN
posted on February 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
To all that may be concerned: Public announcements must be made informing the public of where to take their old televisions and how harmful they are to the environment if we dispose of them in the landfills.
If people are not given information or instruction of where to take the old T.V.s and computers and other appliances. It is important to educate the public about the hazards of pollution from computers, televisions, radios, and how they can effect the environment. There must be public education messages on our T.V networks that educate the public how to protect our environment. At this time of change to new televisions we have an opportunity to educate. The message should come from the public agencies such as our trash removal companies or public service agencies.
The Blue Dot
posted on July 28th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
I have 5 CRTs in my house alone. Times that by the 100,000,000+ homes in the US alone. Wow! That is a lot of TVs that are now useless! There has to be a better way to handle all this old technology. People go through Cell Phones on average every 18 months. TVs are replaced probably every 5-15 years where as a phone is replaced every 18 months. In addition to that, everyone has at least one cell phone. Combined, that is a lot of waste!