Mar 1, 2016 3 min read

When most people get one of those high-definition, flat screen television sets that take up half a wall, the typical reaction is usually along the lines of, “How did I ever live without this?! Where has this been all my life?!”

This is usually followed by an overwhelming urge to get rid of the hulking, bubble-back TV that’s taking up so much space as expeditiously as possible. The only problem, though, is that there are a dwindling number of options when it comes to getting rid of these outmoded monstrosities legally and at little or no cost.

Pennsylvania residents are no longer allowed to put televisions and other electronic goods out by the sidewalk for trash pickup following the implementation in 2013 of the Covered Device Recycling Act, which was meant to cut down on the number of computers and televisions languishing in landfills for decades and leaching noxious and harmful substances into the ground. This is environmentally sound and laudable. But the bumper crop of old televisions and computers that people want to part with means that traditional second-hand outlets like thrift stores are no longer interested in taking them and they go wanting when they are offered for free on online sites. Now, even some recyclers of electronics are approaching them warily, pointing out that the price of elements like cooper and cadium has tumbled, and that they are not receiving enough money from the state to cover their losses. Earlier this year, to cite one example, the electronics hauler who had contracted with Peters Township bowed out, forcing the township to suspend its free recycling program.

To make matters even worse, Best Buy, which had been accepting electronic goods for recycling at no charge, recently announced it was ending the service in Pennsylvania because retail outlets cannot charge a fee to accept recycled goods under state law.

The result? In Peters and many other places, some hapless consumers are almost certainly letting their televisions and computers gather dust in their basements or garages, reminding them constantly that what was cutting-edge – and no doubt pricey – 10 or 20 years ago is now all but worthless. Those who are less patient and less scrupulous are dumping their old TV sets in creeks or in the woods, saying, what the heck, let it be somebody else’s problem.

Some observers have gone so far as to suggest that the large number of old electronic goods that need to be recycled and the dwindling number of recyclers have reached crisis proportions.

It doesn’t need to be this way, and shouldn’t be this way.

First, the state needs to amend its electronics recycling law to make it so recyclers of electronics can actually make money doing it. This will most likely mean asking manufacturers of these goods who are currently paying into a fund to cover recycling costs to pony up a little more. Then, Best Buy and other retailers should be able to charge a small amount in order to cover their costs.

Another suggestion, and this one hits a little closer to home – the Washington County Planning Commission sponsors a free, monthly recycling program on the first Tuesday of the month at the Washington County Fairgrounds from 2 to 5 p.m. This is great, but how about changing the dates and times so that more people who work during the day can make it there?

Hopefully by the time the flat-screen televisions that we are so bedazzled by now become yesterday’s junk, we will have figured this out.