Monday, October 20, 2008

Electronic Waste - Where Does Yours Go?

I was visiting my dad a few weeks ago and he had just received in the mail coupons for his television digital converter box. Living outside the reach of the local cable company, he has had a dish satellite for years. He knows he will need the converter boxes in order to get the local station and this means having one more remote to keep up with. Wow, what happen to the days when there were no remotes. It seems like now we have remotes for everything.

My dad does have another choice, buy a new TV which will not require the converter box. If he decides to do this, like many homes will, what will happen to the old set. Anyone getting an additional set for their home will not want one which will require the purchase of a converter. This means that the landfills are going to be filling up with tv cathode-ray tubes containing lead, mercury, and plastics. Sure a few sets may be recycled, but at some point a huge amount of sets will find their way to the community landfills to leach toxins into our earth.

If you find yourself left with an electronic device, consider a recycle drop-ff location in your area. Visit ComputerTakeBack.com to find a convenient location for your electronic drop off.

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