Don't be a wasteful Grinch - Recycle old electronics

Don't be a wasteful Grinch - Recycle old electronics

DEP urges Floridians to be good environmental stewards

TALLAHASSEE – With the holiday shopping season now upon us, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is urging all Floridians to recycle old electronics, keeping them out of landfills and protecting Florida’s natural resources.

"Recycling televisions and other electronics allows for the recovery of electronic components that contain lead and other toxic materials," said Mary Jean Yon, DEP’s Director of Waste Management. "Recycling is good for the environment and the reuse of resources makes good economic sense."

With the downturn in the economy, electronic retailers are launching their "Black Friday" events earlier this year to motivate budget-conscious buyers. In addition, the deadline for television stations to switch from an analog signal to a digital signal is February 17, 2009. Consumers with older televisions that do not have a digital tuner must either purchase a new television with a digital tuner or a converter box for their analog television. Television consumers who subscribe to cable or satellite will have the conversion through their own cable TV boxes and will not be affected.

With the deadline quickly approaching, just 85 days away, a high number of televisions could be sold this holiday season leaving old sets on the curb. To prevent an influx of electronic waste in Florida’s landfills, DEP is encouraging consumers to look for ways to recycle unwanted televisions. There are many options to recycle unwanted televisions at no cost to most consumers; including:

• Keep old televisions for games, videos or DVDs.
• Donate working televisions to a charitable organization or give them to a friend.
• Offer televisions through a local Freecycle group at http://www.freecycle.org.
• Recycle it!

Televisions and other electronic items that are broken or can no longer be used can still be recycled in an environmentally-friendly manner. To make it easier for Floridians to recycle old electronics, DEP has produced an interactive web-based map that enables citizens to find out where to recycle with just one click.

DEP’s electronics recycling web site also links to a frequently asked questions page that explains what the television broadcast signal conversion is, how to tell whether your television is "digital-ready" and how to get a $40 coupon from the Federal government towards the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter box. To use DEP’s interactive electronics recycling map, visit www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/electronics/pages/televisions.htm.  

DEP encourages consumers purchasing a new television to consider buying one that conserves energy. ENERGY STAR® qualified televisions use about 30 percent less electricity than standard units, saving both energy and money on utility bills. For more information on ENERGY STAR® televisions, visit http://www.energystar.gov/.  

For more information on recycling electronics,
visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/electronics/default.htm.  

To increase recycling throughout Florida, this summer Governor Charlie Crist signed the Energy, Climate Change, and Economic Security Act of 2008 into law which establishes a new statewide recycling goal of 75 percent to be achieved by 2020. Within the law, DEP is directed to develop a program to achieve this goal and submit it to the Florida Legislature for consideration by January 1, 2010. For more information on the new statewide recycling goal of 75 percent, and to share your comments on ways to achieve this goal and view comments from others on our web-based forum, visit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/recyclinggoal75/.