Recycling companies in Illinois and Missouri are seeing an uptick of television sets, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. More are expected after analog TV transmitters are shut down next February. As the Dispatch stated, “Many analog TV owners don't know yet that their sets won’t work without a converter box or subscribing to services such as cable or satellite.”
One recycling event in a St. Louis suburb yielded three tractor-trailers of TV sets. About 182,000 homes in St. Louis would have been TV-free if the transition had taken place in August, the newspaper reported.
“Despite the tremendous education effort that's under way, there are some people who just aren't going to bother until the channel goes blank,” a recycling executive told the Dispatch.
TVs with their high lead content will be banned from landfills in Illinois in 2012. The state passed a law requiring TV manufacturers to pay for recycling TVs. USA Today reported in August that around 11 states had similar laws. Missouri does not, nor does the federal government.
A handful of TV makers have their own programs, including LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. More don’t than do, however. The Electronic Takeback Coalition issued a report card last month for TV manufacturer recycling programs. Most failed. - TVB Staff
