Karen,

TVs and computer monitors should not simply be thrown away. Many people
do, however the CRT units have mercury and other hazardous chemicals in
them and should, legally, be disposed as hazardous material. This goes
for most household batteries (except NiMH) as well.

Because of the hazardous materials involved in manufacturing computers,
Europe recently passed laws that hold the manufacturers of computers
and computer devices liable for the cost of subsequent disposal. This,
of course, has raised the cost of such items a bit, but it means
however many years down the line, when you need to throw it out, the
company that manufactured it has to pay and provide for proper disposal.

I welcome any new information on this as it's been a year or so since I
last read about the European laws. I also welcome any enlightenment as
to further details about waste disposal laws in this area or nationwide.


On Wednesday, January 7, 2004, at 01:17  PM, Karen Henderson wrote:

> I have a TV that my parents bought around 1980.  It is color, and
> about a 20"+ size screen.  For years it's had to "warm up" (rolling
> picture) until you could watch it; now the rolling is continuous.  It
> may need a new picture tube, or it may just need some small
> adjustment.  Regardless, it is in my trunk and I want to give it to
> someone who may have some use for it.  (I have already replaced it
> with a new one.)  I have called several different kinds of places
> that I thought might want it, but to no avail.  I just hate to throw
> it in the dumpster, but that will be what I'll do next.  The sound
> works perfectly, so if someone wanted to put it in their garage or
> workroom so they could at least listen to it, that might work.

Brandon Walker
IT Administrator
UTC Helpdesk
423-425-4000
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