MARC News

Go green when TV goes digital

Feb. 10, 2009

On June 12, 2009, broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital. Despite this significant change, most consumers will not need to purchase a new television set, but can receive broadcasting signals by purchasing a converter box that will sit atop their older TVs.

For consumers who are considering replacing their television sets during the digital transition, electronics recycling is a safe, environmentally friendly way to dispose of old TVs.

"Older televisions contain hazardous substances such as lead and flame retardants," says Matt Riggs, Outreach Coordinator for the MARC Solid Waste Management District. "These substances can leach into our waterways and harm people and the environment when disposed of improperly. That's why we always recommend recycling."

Electronics recycling (or "e-cycling") offers several benefits:

• Protects health: Electronics can contain toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, and flame retardants. Properly reusing or recycling electronics prevents dangerous materials from potentially hurting our health.
• Environmental protection: E-cycling recovers valuable materials (precious and other metals, plastics and glass) from old electronics that can be used to make new products. Recycling these materials reduces greenhouse gas emissions, saves energy, extends the life of landfills and intelligently uses resources by extracting fewer raw materials from the earth.
• Local job creation: Recycling electronics creates jobs for recyclers and refurbishers and creates new markets for the valuable components. As the demand for electronics recycling grows, so will the need for new e-cycling businesses; existing recycling companies will need to hire more staff to meet the increasing workload.

Residents can recycle old televisions at the following area locations:

• AVC Recovery Systems, 33 Skyline Drive, Adrian, Mo. 64720, (913) 219-4900
• Best Buy – Starting Feb. 15, consumers can bring up to two televisions per day, per household, for recycling at any U.S. Best Buy store. Best Buy will accept most consumer electronics, including televisions and monitors up to 32". For more information, visit www.bestbuy.com.
• Electronic Disposal Technologies, Inc., 525 W. 9th St., Kansas City, Mo. 64101, (816) 210-3015
• Forerunner Recycling, 8240 E. Bannister Rd., Kansas City, Mo. 64138, (816) 807-5454
• Office Depot (smaller televisions only) – For more information visit www.officedepot.com, click on 'Our Services and Tech Recycling.'
• The Surplus Exchange, 518 Santa Fe, Kansas City, Mo. 64105, (816) 472-0444

Each of these organizations also recycles a wide variety of other electronics, including computers. A complete list of electronics recyclers in the Kansas City metro area is available at www.recyclespot.org.

For more information on the digital changeover and details on how to obtain a converter box, visit www.DTV.gov or call 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322). For more information on recycling opportunities, visit www.RecycleSpot.org or call (816) 474-8326.

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