Hi-tech TV, low-tech trash

The changeover to digital broadcasting will lead to old TV sets being discarded. But there8217;s a hidden eco-danger in this. Cathode-ray tubes of these sets are encased with leaded glass to block harmful X-rays created in the picture-making process from escaping and the average CRT contains four pounds of lead

AS new high-definition televisions fly off store shelves, millions of old sets soon could be flying into the trash. A major change to broadcast television8212;the conversion from analog signals to all digital8212;is expected to send many to the store for new TV sets. That could mean a flood of outdated TVs, which contain lead-encased picture tubes and other hazardous material, heading into landfills.

8220;There8217;s going to be an e-waste tsunami,8221; said John S. Shegerian, chief executive of Electronic Recyclers in Fresno, California8217;s largest electronics recycler.

So far, TVs have been less likely to end up in landfills than other electronics, recycling experts say. Although cell phones, computers and other gadgets generally get thrown out or given away when people upgrade, TVs tend to hang around the house if they still work. They8217;re used to play video games or to watch DVDs, or they get plugged into the cable system or hooked to rabbit ears to serve as an extra set.

8220;That conversion analog to digital is going to trigger the reality that even if it8217;s working, even if I turn it on and the screen lights up, this is a device that8217;s incompatible with the current technology,8221; said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste, a Sacramento-based environmental group. 8220;I do think we8217;ll see a wave of new discards.8221;

How big a wave is unclear. 8220;There is going to be an impact, but what the full extent is we8217;re not entirely sure,8221; said Lanny Clavecilla, a spokesman for the California Integrated Waste Management Board.

Consumer electronics manufacturers are trying to stem environmental fallout. According to a survey last year by the Consumer Electronics Association, 19 per cent of people threw their old electronics in the trash. The rest either gave them away 55 per cent, recycled them 18 per cent or sold them 7 per cent.

The Environmental Protection Agency says older sets contain a host of hazardous materials. Cathode-ray tubes are encased with leaded glass to block harmful X-rays created in the picture-making process from escaping. The average picture tube contains 4 pounds of lead. There are lead solder and cadmium in circuit boards, mercury in switches and brominates in flame retardants used on plastic casings. If dumped into landfills, those materials could seep into underground water.

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Next-generation TVs8212;plasmas and liquid crystal displays8212;don8217;t use cathode-ray tubes to display pictures.

Manufacturers want the burden of recycling TVs and other electronic to be spread among retailers and consumers, and they would prefer a single nationwide standard, said the Consumer Electronics Association. The trade group says there are uses for old analog TVs as viewers upgrade to flat-panel digital sets.

But Murray of Californians Against Waste thinks that the more people learn about the digital TV conversion, the less enamored they will be with keeping old sets around. 8220;You8217;re going to see people not only going out and buying a new TV and discarding the one in the family room, they8217;re going to discard the one in the basement too,8221; he said.
Jim PuzzangheraLos Angeles Times