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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/. | 
