Recycle your old TV
Why This is Green
E-waste, AKA discarded electronics, is one of the largest—and growing—contributors to solid waste today. Televisions make up a major percentage of this e-waste stream—and only 18 percent of them were recycled in 2007.
When your TV is no longer useful to you, don’t trash it. Televisions contain heavy metals—including lead—that are extremely harmful if they end up in landfills, where they can leach into the ground and water. Some e-waste gets exported and burned—polluting the air and poisoning the workers charged with this unsafe task.
If you don’t know of an organization or a person who might find your old TV useful, recycle it. This will ensure proper handling of the heavy metals and recuperation of precious metals and other reusable resources from the interior. Recycling also reduces energy use and lowers greenhouse gas emissions.
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How To
There are many ways to recycle a TV. Stores that sell them often take old ones back for refurbishing and/or recycling. E-waste collection centers and drives—organized by a town or an environmental organization—are another good option.
But wait! Before you recycle, check online to see if you can make money on your old model. What’s junk to you may be valuable to someone else.
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