Recycling Your Outdated Analog Televisions

One concern that is starting to gain a great deal of attention is what will be done with all of the analog televisions that will be left over when the switch to digital takes place. After all, there are still analog only televisions available for purchase and many people have analog televisions sitting in their homes. Sure, several people will purchase the upconverters in order to make their televisions receive digital signals. Nonetheless, there are also going to be several people who simply want to get rid of those televisions as well.

Well, thankfully, many of these televisions can be recycled. In fact, many electronic devices can be recycled.

“There’s a lot of things that can be recycled other than your television,” says Angela Sparks from Legacy Landfill. “There are computers, monitors, cell phones, telephones, radios, I pods, X boxes, all the games, stereos, copiers, microwaves, anything with electronics we can send it off for recycling to keep it out of the land fill.”

Recycling your analog television is definitely a much better option than just tossing it into the trash. Believe it or not, there are several parts to televisions and other electronic devices that can really cause some harm to the environment.

“Components that have mercury, lead, and other things that when they interact with other things in the waste stream can cause fires or if touched by our operators can cause skin damage,” continues Sparks.

So, obviously, recycling is a much safer and healthier option. Thankfully, more and more people are becoming aware of this option. Still, there is a need for a greater amount of awareness. In fact, Legacy Landfill reports that it hauled almost 20 tons of electronics from garbage trucks. It would certainly be much easier for consumers to simply recycle the items in the first place.

Of course, another option is to donate the outdated television. For example, your church may be able to use the television to show videos, since those will still broadcast just fine. Schools and other nonprofit organizations may also be able to use these devices if they are still functioning properly.

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