Either way, there is a lot more salvagable in the old tube sets for
someone (like myself) who works on tube stuff. I would not even consider
picking up something like you got.
Hey Old School,
Where I live is semi rural and on an island. Because I'm on an island
trash is expensive to get rid of. So some people burn it because they
can get away with it because of the low population density. However, I
don't burn anything except wood and bushes. I know the old way was to
burn everything yourself and then bury the ashes. But I would strongly
encourage you to not burn plastics. Especially any of the chlorinated
plastics, which are quite common. When the plastics are burned with
paper or wood dioxins are formed. Dioxins are bad stuff and even a
very small exposure can have really bad health affects for certain
animals. Humans being one of them. And I would also urge you to not
break up and toss TV tubes. They are loaded with lead in the glass,
several pounds. This lead will leach out into water that is even
slightly acid. I know, it's not the end of the world if you throw it
away and if you burn plastic. but it does add to the crap we put in
our environment and we are seeing the effects of all now. And if your
dump is burning stuff in the open air it is almost certainly not lined
to prevent runoff. By the way, where do you live that they still burn
garbage in the open air? I can't think of anyplace anymore that does
this in the USA. I'm also a little surprised that you can't recycle
electronic waste for free. Even here on an island virtually all
electronic waste can be disposed of for free. And they do take CRTs.
No charge.
Thanks,
Eric

We can blame the government for a lot of these problems. Here is why.
There was a private company that used to take in used electronics,
particularly computers. The tested everything that came in, and would
fix stuff that was easily repairable. They had a store, where anyone
could buy an entire computer system for $20 to $50, they wiped and sold
all the hardrrives that worked, sold mice, keyboards, computer boards,
RAM, power supplies, modems, and you name it. They sold old vintage
radios and even some old test equipment and sometimes some electric
motors and other stuff like that.

The idiot state government shut them down, so they could make a lot of
money by charging everyone $20 or more (per piece) to get rid of
electronic waste. A TV costs $20. A computer is (I think) the same, and
if that computer includes a monitor and printer, that's 3 items, or $60.

All the stuff that was being recycled and re-sold in that store is now
going to the landfill. What a damn waste. I used to love going to that
store, and shopping for cheap electronic stuff. And if something failed
within 2 weeks it could be returned and exchanged for something similar.

Heck, when they were forced to shut down, I bought the stuff by the box.
Like a whole box of harddrives for $20, and a shoe box size of RAM for
$10, and so on. I still have 20lbs or so of all the small screws and
nuts they had collected from computers. That's been real handy to have.

What we have now, are tv sets. computers and whatever else being tossed
in the ditches along rural roads, because people dont want to pay the
disposal fee. The same is true for tires.

It's a dirty shame. That company was not only profitable, fun to shop
at, but it employed 20 or 30 disabled people, who took that stuff apart,
tested the parts, and ran the store. It's been about 10 years since the
damn state ruined that business and got greedy.

I dont know which plastics contain chlorinated materials, but I can
guess PVC is one of them (from the name).

We do not have any garbage pickup here, but for a huge price, I could
hire a private company. So, I have little choice but to burn paper and
plastics. But I do recycle all metals. On the rare occasion I have to
dispose of a CRT, I smash it in a box, and toss it in a dumpster at some
local business. I really do not know what else I can do.

One thing I do have to say, is that it's time they stop manufacturing
harmful plastics. Yea, I know PVC is useful for plumbing, but what about
all the packaging. Everything we buy is packed in plastic waste. I am
also the first person to complain when I go to a store, but one item and
the idiot clerk puts it into a plastic bag. One local store, the
employees are required to ask "Do you want a bag?". Unless I really need
a bag, I always say "NO". Then some of the idiot clerks put my stuff in
a bag right after I said "NO". That's when I tend to get a little rude
and say "I just told you NO BAG, remove it from the bag"....

In my opinion, all the EPA is good for, is to take money away from
private people, in the name of environment protection. If they were
doing any good, they would attack the producers of all the harmful
packaging and work to find safe alternatives.