GREEN way to dump TECH

New York
The Asian Age

This month, Edward Reilly, 35, finally let go of the TV he had owned since his college days. Although the Mitsubishi set was technologically outdated, it had sat for years in Reilly’s home in Portland, because he did not know what else to do with it, given the environmental hazards involved in discarding it.

“It’s pretty well known that if it gets into the landfill, it gets into the groundwater,” he said. “Its chemicals pollute.” But the day after the nationwide conversion to digital television signals took effect on June 12, Reilly decided to take advantage of a new wave of laws in Maine and elsewhere that require TV and PC manufacturers to recycle their products free of charge. He dropped off his television at an electronic waste collection site near his home and, he said, immediately gained “peace of mind.” Over the course of that day, 700 other Portland residents did the same.

New York City have approved laws that make manufacturers responsible for recycling electronics, and similar statutes were introduced in 13 other states this year. The laws are intended to prevent a torrent of toxic and outdated electronic equipment — TV sets, PCs, printers, fax machines — from ending up in landfills where they can leach chemicals into groundwater and potentially pose a danger to public health. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 99.1 million TVs sit unused in closets and basements across the country.

Since 2004, 18 states and Consumer response to recycling has been enormous in states where the laws have taken effect

Collection points in Washington State, for example, have been swamped by people like Babs Smith, 55, who recently drove to RE-PC, a designated electronics collection and repurposing center on the southern edge of Seattle.