TVs are a serious solid-waste problem. An estimated 13.4 million TVs are thrown away in the U.S. each year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
TVs contain toxic materials.
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• TV monitors with cathode ray tubes (CRTs), the technology used in non-flat screen TVs, contain four to eight pounds of lead on average. Liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors may also contain lead (though much less than CRTs) and older CRT models may contain cadmium. The EPA has identified electronic products as the largest single source of lead in municipal solid waste.
• Plastics used in the housing of many television sets contain flame retardants that are toxic and persist in the environment. Studies suggest they accumulate in household dust and in the food chain, and they have been detected in some fish.
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Not all TV sets returned for recycling end up at an appropriately managed facility. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, an environmental advocacy group, has found that the majority of equipment is diverted to uncontrolled landfills or to unsafe recycling operations in developing countries. As a result, the local environment in these areas can become contaminated, and local residents, in an effort to reclaim valuable metal components, may be exposed to hazardous materials.
A coalition of environmental groups has recently established a voluntary program known as the Electronics Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship. The recyclers agree not to export hazardous electronic components to developing countries, not to dispose of equipment in municipal landfills or incinerators not equipped to handle it, and not to use prison labor, among other things. The program is new, but the number of companies that have signed on is growing. Click here to see a list of recyclers that signed the pledge. Check our recycling section for more recycling options.
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