Electronic Waste

By Feb. 17, 2009, television stations are required to convert to all-digital signals by the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005. Supporters cite a better quality signal as one of the benefits of this switch, as well as the fact that the switch frees up spectrum for broadband services and emergency communication.

The switch to digital TV will impact the Solid Waste industry by leading to a significant increase in electronic waste (e-waste). You can help reduce this impact while at the same time saving money by purchasing analog-to-digital converters for your analog television sets.

E-waste Impact

Solid Waste departments and other industry officials are already considering and preparing for the impact of this e-waste, according to Classic Computer Recovery, Inc.’s article “The TV Storm is Coming… Is America Ready?”

This article says that, if one in four households dispose of one analog TV instead of recycling it, the total impact in 2008 and 2009 will be as follows:

Number of recycled TVs: 28,500,000

Number of semi-truck loads: 148,000

Total pounds: 1,995,000,000

Total cubic yards: 6,536,000

Total pounds of toxic metals/ compounds: 585,022,578 (cadmium, mercury, arsenic, lead, beryllium and chromium)

Converter Coupon program

One way that people can help reduce this impact is to not dispose of their analog TVs at all. This option is possible thanks to analog-to-digital converter boxes

Starting Jan. 1, 2008, all U.S. households can request up to two, $40 coupons for converters. Do this by calling 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009). For more information about the coupons and additional ways to apply for them, visit http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/index.html. The coupons are offered by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2009, all U.S. households are eligible to request these coupons while the allocated money is available. After that time period, NTIA may request additional funds, which will be for coupons requested by households that only have over-the-air television services and TV sets.

The coupons will be available on a first come-first serve basis and will only be valid for 90 days from the time they are issued.

Recycling vs. Disposal

If you still choose to get rid of your analog TV, please consider the environmentally responsible option of recycling them instead of sending them to landfills.

The trend of e-waste management is going toward requiring that TVs and other e-waste be recycled, but not all areas mandate this yet. Even with recycling requirements, the switch to digital TV will still mean a lot of electronics will need to be processed or disposed of. This is in part because not all components of electronic materials are re-usable and recyclable.

The Portage County Solid Waste Department does not yet ban e-waste in the landfill, but strongly encourages people to recycle these items. Currently, recycling of electronics is an available but not mandatory service. The recycling of electronics has a cost, depending on the product. These costs are currently as follows:

Portable TV: $10/ each

Console TV: $20/ each

Computer  CPU: $10/ each

Computer Monitor: $10/ each

If you'd like to erase your personal information from your hard drive before bringing it in to recycle, go to www.killdisk.com.

For more information:

What to do?: http://www.dtvanswers.com/dtv_how.html

Converter box information: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/dtvcoupon/index.html