Wisconsin and the TV Apparatus

Unloading that old TV not quite so simple

By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Jan. 23, 2009

With the big switch to digital TV and consumers moving toward sleek flat screens, what's happening to old television sets?

* A. We're keeping them.
* B. We're paying to recycle them.
* C. We're recycling them for free.
* D. We're throwing them in the garbage.
* E. All of the above.

The answer is E.

Wisconsin doesn't ban television sets from landfills - although this could soon change - so there isn't a cut-and-dried answer on what to do with them.

The lead, mercury and cadmium contained in TVs are toxic and dangerous to human health. A typical TV contains four to six pounds of lead.

But TVs also contain gold and silver in their circuit boards; these and other components can be recycled.

In Wisconsin, TV recycling is beginning to happen, with some companies offering the service for free. In other cases, consumers must pay for it. But in metro Milwaukee, there are few, if any, instances in which publicly run recycling operations take TVs.

A bill by state Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona) could broaden the scope of recycling. Manufacturers would be required to take back waste based on a percentage of company sales. Miller's e-waste legislation will be introduced again this year - for the fourth time. It cleared the Senate last year but died in the Assembly.

But with 18 states having now passed laws for recycling electronic waste, Miller said support in Wisconsin is stronger than ever. "Electronics manufacturers are even beginning to embrace it," Miller said.

Local officials and waste specialists say they don't believe that mountains of TVs are being thrown out.

Many instead are in homes, but no longer are used. The latest statistics, from 2005, show that 34% to 52% (by weight) of all electronic products in storage were TVs, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Nevertheless, TVs are still routinely thrown away.

Part of the reason is the looming Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital signals.

Old televisions built before 1998 worked fine before the switch. The older models will continue to work if they are outfitted with a converter box or get service from a cable or satellite provider.

But perhaps more significant is the attraction of flat-screen, high-definition TVs. The Consumer Electronics Association estimated that industry sales in 2008 would reach an all-time high of $172 billion, with digital TVs being the primary source of revenue growth.
No consistent program

In Wisconsin, "there isn't a coherent policy" to dispose of TVs, said Steven D. Brachman, a solid waste expert with the University of Wisconsin Extension. "It's scattered and inconsistent, and that's the problem."

Karen Fiedler, solid waste supervisor for Waukesha County, agreed.

"It's very disjointed," she said. "It's not coordinated the way we would like it to be."

In Waukesha County, most garbage haulers accept TVs because they are not banned from landfills.

Waukesha County has drop-off centers for computers, but not for TVs.

The same is true for Milwaukee, where the city's two drop-off centers for recycling and waste will take computers, but not TVs.

Old TVs placed in the trash will be hauled away, "but we don't encourage it," said Rick Meyers, recycling manager with the City of Milwaukee.

In the recycling world, TVs have not developed as sophisticated of an infrastructure as computers, said Neil Peters-Michaud, founder of Madison-based Cascade Asset Management, which reprocesses and resells electronic equipment.

Compounding the problem, he said, is the global downturn, which has driven down the price of metal in recycled electronics.

Then there is "politics, pure politics," said Barbara Kyle, national coordinator for the Electronics Takeback Coalition.

"Television-makers have historically refused to accept any responsibility for their product."
Best Buy steps up

But things are changing.

Since June, Best Buy stores in Wisconsin have been part of the retailer's pilot program to accept electronics without charge.

No purchase is required, but there are some limits: It's limited to two items per day per household. TVs larger than 32 inches or old consoles will not be accepted.

"We believe that manufacturers and retailers - but especially manufacturers - should be taking these steps," said Kelly Groehler, a spokeswoman for Best Buy in Wisconsin. The company also manufactures its own private label electronics.

Sony started a TV recycling program in 2007. In metro Milwaukee, it is working with Waste Management to accept old Sony brands for free.

Lynn Morgan said Waste Management now accepts electronics without charge by Sony, LG, Zenith and Goldstar at its A-1 Recycling facility, 2101 W. Morgan Ave.

Other electronics can be recycled there at a cost of 35 cents a pound.

This month, a group known as Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Co. - composed of Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba - announced it was accepting the three brands without charge at 280 locations across the country. No locations in Milwaukee were listed.