The deadline when American television switches from analog to digital is several months away, but some people are already tossing out their old Zeniths, Panasonics and RCAs.
ALGIS J. LAUKAITIS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Sunday, November 16, 2008 6:00 pm
The deadline when American television switches from analog to digital is several months away, but some people are already tossing out their old Zeniths, Panasonics and RCAs.
“Everyone’s trying to get rid of them right now,” said Matt Weirman, owner of Secure Recyclers in Lincoln. “We’ve been getting a lot of calls.”
Weirman’s main business is recycling computers and other electronic waste, or e-waste.
Secure Recyclers serves about 300 companies in Nebraska, and Weirman takes televisions to keep them out of the landfill — but it’s something he’s not crazy about doing because old TVs take up a lot of room.
“We’ve seen about a 300 percent increase,” he said. The surge started about three months ago, Weirman said.
That’s about the time the federal government launched its $40 digital converter box coupon campaign for people who want to keep their old analog TVs.
In Nebraska, nearly 247,000 households get TV signals via roof antennas or rabbit ears, according to Nielsen Media Research.
But after Feb. 17, the analog signals will go dark, and full-power television stations will begin broadcasting in digital. Some, like local PBS affiliate NET Television, have already started.
Those who have cable TV or satellite service or who bought or plan to buy converter boxes, will be fine. But people who don’t want to mess with converter boxes may want to upgrade to new, HDTV sets.
City Recycling Coordinator Gene Hanlon said people looking to get rid of their old TVs should consider donating them to a charitable organization or take them to e-waste recyclers.
Or, they can leave them on the curb.
Even though television sets have lead, cadmium, mercury, metals, plastics and other harmful materials that could contaminate water and soils, Nebraska’s waste rules allow disposal in landfills, said Hanlon.
“Landfills are designed to protect the environment and the groundwater,” he said. “Technically, it’s OK for them to dispose of them in a landfill.”
Landfills have thick liners and leachate collection systems that keep pollution from seeping into the soil, he said.
Still, neither Hanlon nor Weirman likes the idea of TVs being buried.
Tom Mulgrue, vice president of Techware Recycling in Lincoln, also encouraged people to recycle, but he said they should be careful their old TVs and other e-waste doesn’t end up overseas.
A recent “60 Minutes” report focused on the trail of toxic e-waste from the U.S. to a town in China where the air and water are extremely polluted and children have high levels of lead in their blood.
Like Weirman’s company, Techware breaks down old electronic components.
Mulgrue said he gets two or three calls a day from people wanting to recycle their old TVs, and he thinks that will pick up as Feb. 17 approaches.
“The TVs are broken down and recycled. … Nothing ends up in a landfill,” Mulgrue said. “Nothing goes overseas.
“Once something goes overseas you don’t know what will happen to it.”
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.