CEA keeps up search for cheap, safe way to recycle old monitors, TVs
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) on Monday officially opened a 30-day contest called the “The Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Challenge: New Uses for Recycled Glass.” The CEA and EDF are looking for an environmentally friendly and financially viable way to recycle the tons of obsolete CRTs that have piled up in junkyards as the world moved on to flat panel display technology.
In the next ten years, the EDF says more than a billion pounds of old CRT televisions and monitors are expected to enter the United States recycling system alone, and the problem is that the glass used in CRTs contains lead, and that makes them unsuitable for glass-to-glass recycling and unsuitable for disposal in landfills.
This leaded glass is actually banned from landfills in many states because it rapidly leaches into the groundwater supply, which could cause harm to humans.
Some CRT glass can have lead content as high as 20%.
"The consumer electronics industry is committed to the mission of eCycling and this challenge has the potential for electronics recycling to take a giant step forward," said Walter Alcorn, vice president of environmental affairs and industry sustainability, CEA. "We’re very excited about this Challenge and the innovative solutions it could yield."
This challenge is open for the next 30 days, and the the first prize winner will be awarded $5,000, and up to four runners up will be selected for awards of $1,000 or more each.
The two groups will then publish and share the winning solutions with manufacturers, retailers and recyclers in an effort to transform how lead-heavy glass is recycled or reused.
Photo: David Maska/Shutterstock