Waste from analog-to-digital TV switch worries officials
When television screens around the country go static in 2009, officials are hoping that consumers will be prepared and not go running to the landfill.
Currently, some television stations broadcast both analog signals — magnetic waves used to display sound and pictures — and digital signals. However, on Feb. 17, 2009, analog transmissions will cease, leaving only digital television broadcasts.
Digital television transmits information as data bits, like a computer. This allows for the broadcast of pictures with higher resolution, thereby giving better picture and sound quality. In addition to improved service, the transition to digital television will free up portions of the broadcast spectrum to be used for a variety of purposes, including public safety.
After the 2009 deadline, however, analog televisions will be unable to read the digital signals. The result, some industry experts say, could be a wave of fresh electronic waste (e-waste) from people whose televisions have become obsolete.
“The fact now that the world is going to go from analog to digital is only going to further expedite the e-waste crisis that already exists today,” said John Shegerian, co-founder and chief executive officer of the California-based private organization Electronics Recyclers. He explained that billions of tons of e-waste are handled inappropriately in the U.S., including dumping in developing countries.
According to the EPA, Americans disposed of between 24 million and 26.3 million units of e-waste. Although e-waste accounted for less than two percent of the solid waste stream, it remains one of the fastest-growing categories. Televisions accounted for between 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent of the solid waste stream.
EPA believes that disposal of e-waste represents a loss of valuable resources and can potentially pose an environmental threat if improperly managed. The greatest benefit to the environment is to recover the materials in these products, rather than mining and manufacturing raw materials,” said Roxanne Smith, press officer for the EPA. “Our primary goal is to extend the useful lives of these products by providing opportunities to reuse and recycle electronics.”
Ways to reduce waste
When the 2009 deadline comes, people won’t be forced to trash their analog televisions.
“Of course, not every analog set will be discarded,” said Rosemary Kimball, director of media relations for the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. “Every household in the country will be eligible for coupons towards purchase of converter boxes that will permit people to continue using their analog sets.”
These coupons will be worth $40 each and can be used toward the purchase of up to two digital-to-analog converter boxes. The program, authorized in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, will begin Jan. 1, 2008 and run through March 31, 2009.
The FCC has yet to determine how citizens can apply for the coupon program.
According to Tom Watson, recycling program manager for King County, Wash., the big-picture solutions involve federal intervention and private sector responsibility.
“We really feel that TV and electronics recycling is a product stewardship issue and that the industry should be providing the recycling and disposal options for electronics,” he said. “We don’t think local government should be stuck providing all the answers for recycling.”
Fortunately, Watson is getting some help from his state. Washington passed a law that aims to require electronics manufacturers to provide consumers with free recycling of electronic products by Jan. 1, 2009.
As of the beginning of this year, registered manufacturers will affix labels on products like computers, monitors and televisions. Electronics manufacturers will be required to register before that date with the state’s Department of Ecology and pay a fee to the department to cover the cost of administering the law, including registration, enforcement and planning. After that, only labeled products from registered manufacturers can be sold in Washington.
Watson offered that recycling is “really more of a problem for the electronics industry than all these states having different regulations. If there was national legislation on electronics and TV recycling, that would make a lot of sense.”
Meanwhile, Shegarian claims that his business is planning on opening between four and six locations to handle the fast-growing amount of e-waste that the public generates.
(For more information on the digital television transition, visit the FCC’s Consumer Corner Web site at www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html.)
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