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Old televisions pose problems for recycling [Asbury Park Press, N.J.](Asbury Park Press (NJ) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 15--When the new television arrived at home, the process was simple enough. The old one used to end up at the curb, waiting for the garbage haulers to cart it off. State law changes that took effect four years ago kept those televisions, as well as computers and other electronics, out of the landfills and forced them to be recycled. That's good, local recycling companies say, because it keeps potentially harmful material out of the landfills. But those same companies say the subsidies that used to offset their costs for recycling televisions have been declining since the law was approved. Without changes, the result could mean they have to pass their costs on to towns or stop serving them all together. "The market is where it is, and it is only getting worse," said Chris Massaro, chief executive officer of Monmouth Wire and Computer Recycling, a Tinton Falls-based company that serves the electronics recycling program for Monmouth County as well as a number of municipalities in central New Jersey. Analog televisions and computer monitors contain cathode ray tubes, commonly called CRTs, which are difficult to recycle because they contain lead chemically bound into the glass. Because of it, there was no value in recycling these older model televisions and monitors. That changed when states in 2004 started approving laws that required electronics manufactures to pay to recycle their share of discarded televisions and computer equipment. Twenty-three states have so-called "producer responsibility" laws. New Jersey passed its own in 2008, and it took effect in 2011. Even though 54 percent of households nationally say they no longer have electronics with CRTs, it's estimated there are still 7 billion pounds of CRT televisions and monitors in U.S. homes, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. This year in New Jersey, electronics manufacturers will be responsible for recycling 55 million pounds of old electronics. Of that, about 38 million pounds are estimated to have leaded glass from CRTs, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the electronics recycling law. The law prohibits consumers from getting charged to recycle electronics. But, in a roundabout way, they could end up footing some of the bill through their municipalities. Massaro, who is fighting for program changes with other recyclers, said Monmouth Wire and other recyclers were getting between 10 to 15 cents per pound to collect electronics from municipalities and sell them to vendors who recycled CRT televisions. Now it costs the company 5 to 6 cents per pound to handle devices with the leaded glass. Monmouth Wire will handle about 6 million to 8 million pounds of electronics in a year, about 4 million to 5 million of which are CRT televisions and computer monitors, Massaro said. At the low end of those numbers, CRT electronics could cost the business $200,000 this year. "It's not a sustainable program here," he said. "All we are asking for is for it to be sustainable." The change has already started to hit local government contracts. Monmouth County, for example, used to get 4 cents per pound from Monmouth Wire for the electronics it collected. Earlier this year, the contract was modified to eliminate the reimbursement to the county because Monmouth Wire could no longer afford to do so. Only 14 of the 53 towns participate in the county's program. The remainder either decided to host their own programs and have their own contracts with recyclers or they don't host programs. Guy Watson, DEP's chief of the bureau of recycling and hazardous waste management, sees the problem as a more recent development. From the start of the program in 2011 to most of the way through 2013, municipalities were getting paid for the televisions they collected and handed over to recyclers, he said. The leaded glass in the televisions was recycled into new CRT televisions. That changed in 2013, when the last factory that processed CRT televisions in North America closed. The only manufacturers now are in India. That left lead smelters as the only place to send the leaded glass and CRT from older televisions and computer monitors. But their process to recycle this glass is also very energy intensive. And that flipped the financials of getting rid of leaded glass. So instead of garnering $250 per ton, it was costing upwards of $200 per ton, Watson said. "A number of recyclers were being told that, 'We won't take your material, but we'll charge you to take it,' or 'We'll take it, but we can't give you any money for it," he said. "There's no question, the program became very destabilized at the end of 2013." The market drop, however, doesn't change the responsibility for electronics manufacturers to recycle this material, Watson said. But in several cases electronics manufacturers have set up their own entities to handle the discarded material, which don't necessarily rely on local recyclers. "We can force a manufacturer to have a collection program. We can force them to meet their obligation," Watson said. "We can't force them to deal with a local business." Local companies like Monmouth Wire would like to see the law changed to mirror one in place in Connecticut, which requires electronics manufactures to work directly with local recyclers, Massaro said. They also want the state to boost the recycling obligations for manufacturers. So, too, do nonprofit groups like the Electronics Takeback Coalition, which has been working on e-waste issues since 2001. "In some cases, there might be more volume that comes back" than the obligation, said Barbara Kyle, the national coordinator for the Electronics Takeback Coalition. "To me, if you are not paying enough to make sure (electronics) are managed responsibly, it's not necessarily going to happen." But the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents electronics manufacturers, disagrees that New Jersey needs to increase its recycling obligations to manufactures. New Jersey is on track to recover an average of 5.6 pounds of discarded electronics per person this year, Watson said. The range across the country is anywhere from 3.5 pounds to 7.5 pounds per person with the highest coming from Vermont. Since the program started, the obligation to manufacturers has gone from 10 million pounds of electronics in 2011 to 55 million this year, Watson said. That places New Jersey at one of the highest e-waste targets in the country, said Walter Alcorn, vice-president of environmental affairs with the Consumer Electronics Association. And several manufacturers collect and recycle more than their share of the target. There are efforts underway to find new ways to address the issue, but those haven't yet hit the marketplace. –––– Susanne Cervenka: 732-643-4229; [email protected]. –––– How to recycle your electronics State law prohibits computers and TVs to be thrown out with trash. Monmouth County offers a free drop-off program to all county residents, small businesses and institutions. Items accepted include: computer cases, monitors, scanners, laptops, keyboards, mice, radios, cameras, copiers, fax machines, stereo components, printers, cables, televisions, telephones, VCRs and DVD players. Residents can drop off electronics from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Monmouth County Reclamation Center at Gate A, 600 Asbury Ave. in Tinton Falls. Residents can also drop electronics off at centers in 14 towns that participate in the county program: Aberdeen, Belmar, Eatontown, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Hazlet, Holmdel, Long Branch, Marlboro, Middletown, Millstone Township, Ocean, Red Bank and Union Beach. Source: Monmouth County ___ (c)2014 Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.) Visit the Asbury Park Press (Neptune, N.J.) at www.app.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |