KVBC News Las Vegas
Jerry Brown
As you filled out your holiday list of new electronic gadgets you just had to have, did you give any thought to what happens to old, outdated equipment?
Thursday at CES, the problem of television recycling was being addressed. The emphasis is on cutting edge technology, such as Sony television sets which are eco-friendly and use 40 percent less power.
Outside the electronics show, activists turned the spotlight on another timely question: what happens to old TVs that aren’t recycled? Dressed as analog TV zombies, they paraded down Convention Center Drive en route to a press conference.
“After the digital TV switch, a lot of people are going to say ‘no one’s going to want my old analog TV, I need to get rid of this,’ and we expect to see an e-waste tsunami of electronic trash headed for our landfills,” Robin Schneider with Texas Campaign for the Environment, said.
Some companies, such as Sony, Samsung, and LG, already have recycling programs, and they’re aiming high: they want to have recycling centers nearby for 95 percent of America’s population.
“Ultimately we want to have a recycling center within five miles of at least 95 percent of the American population,” Schneider explained.
Activists targeted companies like Mitsubishi, Philips, JVC, and Hitachi, which, they claim, have yet to address the recycling problem.
There is good news for advocates of recycling. At the CES convention, industry giants Toshiba, Panasonic, and Sharp announced that they are starting a national recycling program for analog TVs.
Tags: producer responsibility
Categories: News Clipping
English
English
Spanish