Spotlight Feature: How To Recycle Your Old TV Sets

By Frank Macek

As we approach the final deadline for the transition to all digital television, many people are replacing their old television sets with new, hd sets. But what do you do with that old set?

Before you simply toss it on your lawn for the garbage man to collect, consider this: old sets have up to eight pounds of lead in them. Putting them in landfills can greatly increase the likelihood of poison getting into our water supplies once the sets are crushed and the seeps into the ground.

Now multiple that 8 pounds of lead by 27 million sets that consumers discarded in 2007 alone, according to the latest numbers from the Environmental Protection Agency. You see the problem.

For the lead reason alone, many municipalities have now banned TVs from landfills.

Unfortunately, you can't just drop off the TV at the local thrift store or recycling center and call it a day. Some charities no longer accept used TVs since the cost of getting rid of broken sets won't offset the money they could make by selling ones that still work.

But you have some alternatives:

Some retailers and manufacturers including Samsung, Sony and Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba have committed to the EPA's "National TV Recycling Challenge" of offering consumers a way to responsibly dispose of their old sets.

• Samsung offers more than 170 locations throughout the US where consumers can drop off their Samsung TVs at no cost (other brands are accepted for a fee). CLICK HERE
  


• Sony provides 274 nationwide locations with free recycling service for all Sony branded TVs and fee-based recycling of other brands. CLICK HERE
  


• Panasonic, Sharp & Toshiba have 280 locations to collect their branded TVs for free recycling. CLICK HERE

You can also search through Earth 911's database of recycling, disposal, and donation alternatives. Just enter your ZIP code and get a list of options instantly. CLICK HERE

Please be responsible with old television sets and help save the environment and quite possibly a life.

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