A bill governing the recycling of televisions may soon be officially on the books in Texas.

Texas’s House of Reps. recently approved a bill that would require the makers of televisions to offer a recycling program to consumers in Texas. The bill has been approved by the Senate, and may soon hit the desk of the governor.

The 2010 PCCI collection rate for e-waste recycling and take-back showed its first decline, dropping over two percent from 2009.

These numbers were produced by the NCER (National Center for Electronics Recycling), and were gathered from six different areas (Virginia, Connecticut, Minnesota, Maine, Delaware and California). The study indicates that e-waste programs may be in a leveling-out phase, after the initial rise in demand.

With the constant attention being paid to the dangers of supposed cell phone radiation, the data supporting the dangers of e-waste is far more convincing. An academic journal recently published a study which shows that the improper handing of e-waste can contribute to cancer, DNA damage and cardiovascular disease to those who dismantle these items without proper procedures, as well as those around them.

Mountains of obsolete monitors, broken TVs and out-of-date laptops which used to be stacked up in attics and garages have helped California hit a milestone.

California’s e-waste program has just hit the 1 billion pounds mark. That is by far more e-waste than any other state can boast, and equals about 20 million computers and TV’s that have avoided our landfills.

So, what do you think happens to that old keyboard and monitor once you have left it at the electronics recycling center? Some computer components are reused by a school or charity.

However, 90 percent or more of the items turned in will be recycled. The various parts of outdated televisions and computers are used in lots of ways, like the following:
 

Besides recycling electronics, there are lots of things we can do to avoid creating e-waste in the first place.

In relation to sustaining our environment, the IT community doesn’t seem to have its priorities in order. The latest research confirms what many have suspected for quite some time. The IT sector is rather “energy-neutral” as far as savings and consumption. Even today, energy efficiency seems to be their biggest focus.

The e-waste stacking up in our garages and basements hold precious material that can be reused and made into a new product, just like with plastic bottles and newspapers. The challenge is recycling this e-waste properly, and finding the right company to do it.

A small component of electronic waste, a CRT (cathode ray tube) has become a major contributor in our hazardous waste disaster on every level, from local to international. These are the glass tubes in your televisions, computer monitors, or any other video display intended to focus and amplify high-energy beams to show us the millions of images we see on the screens. As a way to keep consumers free from radiation risk, CRT glass contains lead. Each CRT will contain about 20 percent lead, which can equate to four to eight pounds in every unit.

Electrical equipment and electric products comprise 6 percent of our nation’s gross domestic product, rising one percent since 2001. Electronic waste makes up over 5 percent of the solid waste stream in the United States, and grows at a rate five times quicker than any other waste stream. No other municipal solid waste segment grows faster than the e-waste sector, with the industry at $40 billion per year.