Don't be a boob: Recycle that old television tube!

Know the facts – don’t be an environmental boob when it comes to buying a new TV or discarding an old television tube.

T’was five nights before Christmas, and all through the house

Creatures were stirring and rockin’ out.

Santa’s cool def jam blared on the non-digital TV,

As lights twinkled on our LED-lit, ecologically-forested, Christmas tree.

I am/was wrapping presents with recycled paper all a-glee,

Amazed by the next commercial announcing an ‘Eco TV.’

I am such a boob! I am!

I ordered a flat, digital TV that now does not seem so glam.

In the store the picture was all a-glow.

The holiday deals so wonderfully low.

I never gave a thought, not one.

Where would my old TV go when it was done?

Into the trash full of mercury, plastic and lead.

Oh! Visions of tainted water and growing landfills dance in my head.

But just at that moment a happy reprieve.

I heard reindeer hooves and a "Ho, ho, ho" as I saw the red sleeve!

Down the chimney he came in a flash.

All rosy in red organic jeans and a zip-up, organic, alpaca-wool hoodie to match.

The jolly voice whispered, "You’re not a boob!

You know what to do. First things first, recycle that old tube.

Save the environment repair, recycle, repurpose, reuse,

While providing jobs for others and low-cost electronics, too.

Then call up the store and cancel the mercury and lead.

Get something still flat and glowing, but greener instead.

Vote with your dollars; use your green voice!

It’s conscious consumer pressure spurring companies to make a green choice."

"Thank you, thank you," was all I could say

As I thought, ‘why is he here on this day?’

"A test run for the new bamboo reins my dear," he said with a wink.

"And after taking the gang for a ‘bio diesel,’ organic, switch-grass drink."

Giving a smile, he pulled on his beard.

Up the chimney he disappeared.

Jumping in his post-consumer recycled aluminum sleigh, they flew out of sight.

While departing he said, "Green Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight."

With a flip and a flutter a curious paper floated down to the hearth.

 "Green TV Recycling and Buying, A Santa Guide," it said with a flair of Elvish art.

Televisions when thrown in landfills are hazardous waste containing non-decomposing plastics and dangerous toxins such as mercury and lead. More than 4.6 million tons of electronics ended up as hazardous electronic waste (e-waste) in U.S. landfills in 2000 according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. With the digital signal conversion on February 17, 2009, only some of the 3.6 million analog TVs will upgrade their TVs with a converter box or a cable or satellite subscription service. Other analog, cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs will be replaced by plasma screens or liquid crystal displays (LCD). Landfill CRT TVs are hazardous waste in the form of soil and drinking water contamination. Lead represents 20 percent, or between four and eight pounds, of each CRT TV. When donated, recycled, repaired, or repurposed, electronics move from e-waste in landfills to useful devices or e-scrap, a valuable part of the e-cycle stream. To sustain people and planet, make green choices when purchasing, upgrading, or discarding any electronic device. If donation is not an option, do NOT curb or landfill discard your TV. E-cycle. In some locales (like Missouri) electronics are not legally accepted as trash; e-cycling is mandatory.www.witsinc.org.www.ecyclestlouis.org.www.earth911.com/electronics/electronics-101. Enter the type of item to be recycled and your zip code for a list of local options.

TV Components in the E-cycle Stream

* Case = plastics (melted and recycled).

* Circuit board = plastics (melted and recycled), metals in the form of transistors, transformers, etc (repurposed or recycled).

* Wires = copper (melted and recycled).

* Yoke = ceramic cone (ground and recycled), copper (melted and recycled).

* Tube = lead in the glass (smeltered and recycled), glass (melted and recycled).

WITS is high on Santa’s "Nice List" as a St. Louis, not-for-profit, social enterprise recycler with a 0% landfill policy. As president and founder Angela Haas says, "We don’t just recycle electronics we recycle lives. We are full cycle." 

By donating your TV or other electronics through pickup or drop off to WITS, you are helping to provide marketable skills, employment, and a resume step up to former offenders, rehabilitation participants, and local students, as well as low-cost electronics to families in need. This Christmas WITS will donate 100 refurbished computers to local families in need. Even with the small fee to cover hazardous waste processing of donated TVs it’s still a great deal. Each donor receives a tax receipt for fees paid and the value of the donated item (off your hands, social good, and less cha-ching to the IRS). For more information about WITS or their special TV collection on February 7, 2009 visit www.witsinc.org.

Other recycling options:

* E-cycle St. Louis, www.ecyclestlouis.org.

* Earth 911, www.earth911.com/electronics/electronics-101. Enter the type of item to be recycled and your zip code for a list of local options.

* Contact the manufacturer to ask if they have a recycling program

Does the switch to digital television signals on Feb 17, 2009 have you asking Santa for a new TV? Check out "Green TV Buying, A Santa Guide" on The Vital VOICE Web site, www.thevitalvoice.com. It’s up to you, dear reader (and conscious consumer)! Know the facts — don’t be an environmental boob when it comes to buying a new TV or discarding an old television tube.

Kellee K. Sikes is a business strategist, writer, and speaker working with organizations focused on people, profits, and the planet (P3). Reach her at Pioneer Technologies Consulting, ksikes@pioneer-technologies.com or www.progressionary.com.