Broadcast Newsroom: Green DTV
Filed under: Earth 911 - February 19, 2008
By John Eggerton
An environmental protection specialist from the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste was in attendance at a recent meeting of various government partners in the NTIA’s DTV education program.
Why on God’s green Earth?
Because analog TVs become solid waste when they are replaced by digital ones. And according to recycling group Earth 911, CRT displays contain up to eight pounds of lead per set.
“Combine this with the fact that the FCC is going to require all televisions to run a digital signal by Feb. 18, 2009, and we could be looking at a lot of lead headed for landfills,” the group says on its Website.
With potentially millions of old analog sets being scrapped over the next year or so, the EPA, which concedes that no national infrastructure exists for collecting, recycling or reusing electronics, has a vested interest in extending the time line to help with the logistics of dealing with disposal. That means that going green can be buying a DTV-to analog converter box. “Through our Plug-In To eCycling program [a partnership with consumer electronics manufacturers], EPA is highlighting opportunities for consumers to continue to use their existing analog-only TVs,” says EPA spokeswoman Roxanne Smith.
The National Association of Broadcasters encourages stations to link to e-cycling programs on their station Websites. The NAB features a link to the Consumer Electronics Association’s MyGreenElectronics.org site on its own site. The EPA is also working with TV manufacturers and retailers to make it easier for consumers to recycle their old sets.