Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste
facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even the lead along that surface can escape. As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it be worth something? (The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.) Remove NOPSAM to email me.. |
#2
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
mm spake thus:
Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even the lead along that surface can escape. First of all, not true: think about all the solder on the circuit boards. Until manufacturers go to completely lead-free solder (ugh), there'll be plenty of Pb besides in the tube. It's not so much a matter of the lead "escaping" (I'm guessing you're visualizing it going off into the air somehow) as leaching into water in a landfill, where it can form all kinds of lead-containing compounds that can come back to poison us. So yes, it's a real problem, not just something that some environmental bureaucrat dreamed up. -- "In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the population into concentration camps and turn the country into a wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do that. Let ME do it.'" - Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost Authority." |
#3
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message .com... mm spake thus: Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even the lead along that surface can escape. First of all, not true: think about all the solder on the circuit boards. Until manufacturers go to completely lead-free solder (ugh), there'll be plenty of Pb besides in the tube. It's not so much a matter of the lead "escaping" (I'm guessing you're visualizing it going off into the air somehow) as leaching into water in a landfill, where it can form all kinds of lead-containing compounds that can come back to poison us. So yes, it's a real problem, not just something that some environmental bureaucrat dreamed up. That's a matter of opinion ... There are many more much more serious sources of environmental pollutants that represent a far greater risk to health than lead in electronic waste. Arfa |
#4
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
Arfa Daily spake thus:
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message .com... It's not so much a matter of the lead "escaping" (I'm guessing you're visualizing it going off into the air somehow) as leaching into water in a landfill, where it can form all kinds of lead-containing compounds that can come back to poison us. So yes, it's a real problem, not just something that some environmental bureaucrat dreamed up. That's a matter of opinion ... There are many more much more serious sources of environmental pollutants that represent a far greater risk to health than lead in electronic waste. Well, it's all relative, isn't it? My point was that lead pollution from discarded electronics is a serious problem. If you live here in West Oakland, then you're going to be more concerned about getting asthma from all the trucks going in and out of the Port of Oakland. -- "In 1964 Barry Goldwater declared: 'Elect me president, and I will bomb the cities of Vietnam, defoliate the jungles, herd the population into concentration camps and turn the country into a wasteland.' But Lyndon Johnson said: 'No! No! No! Don't you dare do that. Let ME do it.'" - Characterization (paraphrased) of the 1964 Goldwater/Johnson presidential race by Professor Irwin Corey, "The World's Foremost Authority." |
#5
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message .com... Arfa Daily spake thus: "David Nebenzahl" wrote in message .com... It's not so much a matter of the lead "escaping" (I'm guessing you're visualizing it going off into the air somehow) as leaching into water in a landfill, where it can form all kinds of lead-containing compounds that can come back to poison us. So yes, it's a real problem, not just something that some environmental bureaucrat dreamed up. That's a matter of opinion ... There are many more much more serious sources of environmental pollutants that represent a far greater risk to health than lead in electronic waste. Well, it's all relative, isn't it? My point was that lead pollution from discarded electronics is a serious problem. If you live here in West Oakland, then you're going to be more concerned about getting asthma from all the trucks going in and out of the Port of Oakland. You are correct that it is all relative, but unfortunately, the responses are not relative pro rata, which was my point. No one would disagree that if you get lead into your body in sufficient quantity, it's not gonna do you a lot of good. The point is that it is actually quite difficult to get lead into your body in sufficient quantity to do damage. Lead in gasoline was a good way. Lead in solder or CRT glass faceplates, is not. Tin / lead solder is a stable substance. No matter how much you run water over solder, the lead ain't gonna leach out of it in sufficient concentration to be a problem. Even if you factor in acid rain - and there's a lot less of that now that there are laws against noxious airborne waste discharges of nasty stuff like sulphur dioxide - you still have a hard job washing lead out of solder into the water table. Europe is renowned for having committes and workgroups and think-tanks who come up with hysterical reactions to non-problems. Lead in solder is a good example. Don't get me wrong. I am not against recycling per se, but for the right reasons. Whilst on the surface, any actions that genuinely contribute to " saving the planet " are laudable, and indeed desirable, you also have to look at the other side of the coin which is often forgotten, and that is the energy budget to carry out the recycling. By the time you have collected your goods, sorted them in a heated and well-lit worker-friendly warehouse that you had to custom build, dismantled them, recovered any reusable materials, repurified them, remanufactured them, and finally disposed of whatever is left, you may well have used more energy, and contributed more to pollution, than if you had not bothered. Just looking at lead free solder. I wonder how much additional energy is now being used worldwide, to heat all of those solder baths up another 40 degrees, heat up all those rework stations another 40 degrees, heat up all those millions of hand soldering irons another 40 degrees ? How much additional transport energy to get goods suffering from lead-free bad joints back to a repair centre, and then back to the customer ? Quite a lot I would wager, and certainly more than a few wind turbines can make up ... Arfa |
#6
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
On Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:40:57 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: [...] You are correct that it is all relative, but unfortunately, the responses are not relative pro rata, which was my point. No one would disagree that if you get lead into your body in sufficient quantity, it's not gonna do you a lot of good. The point is that it is actually quite difficult to get lead into your body in sufficient quantity to do damage. Lead in gasoline was a good way. Lead in solder or CRT glass faceplates, is not. Tin / lead solder is a stable substance. No matter how much you run water over solder, the lead ain't gonna leach out of it in sufficient concentration to be a problem. Even if you factor in acid rain - and there's a lot less of that now that there are laws against noxious airborne waste discharges of nasty stuff like sulphur dioxide - you still have a hard job washing lead out of solder into the water table. [...] Tell that to the Romans, whose much-lauded plumbing systems-- a marvel of the ancient world -- were made with lead pipes, which many historians have indicted as one of the reasons for the Decline and Fall (crazy emperors, etc.) Aspasia |
#7
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
On Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:40:57 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: I wonder how much additional energy is now being used worldwide, to heat all of those solder baths up another 40 degrees, heat up all those rework stations another 40 degrees, heat up all those millions of hand soldering irons another 40 degrees ? Lead free solder! Does this mean I have to stock up on leaded solder, for my own use? How much additional transport energy to get goods suffering from lead-free bad joints back to a repair centre, and then back to the customer ? Quite a lot I would wager, and certainly more than a few wind turbines can make up ... Arfa Remove NOPSAM to email me.. |
#8
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
mm wrote: Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even the lead along that surface can escape. As long as the dumps don't leach into the water table that's true. As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it be worth something? (The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.) It's a con. Ppl are in the future going to have to effectively *pay* for them to be recycled simply because there is nothing much worth recycling ! It's started in Europe already. Expect prices of consumer electronics to rise ~ 10%. Graham p.s. nesgroups aren't here for ppl to email you. You're meant to come back to read the replies and comment otherwise the purpose of them is lost. |
#9
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 04:25:14 +0100, Eeyore
wrote: p.s. nesgroups aren't here for ppl to email you. You're meant to come back to read the replies and comment otherwise the purpose of them is lost. I know. The sig is only intended for people who want to mail me for whatever reasons of their own. I'm not requesting email. Remove NOPSAM to email me.. |
#10
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
mm wrote in
: Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even the lead along that surface can escape. As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it be worth something? (The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.) Remove NOPSAM to email me.. I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks. |
#11
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 22:50:16 -0500, Al Bundy
wrote: As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it be worth something? I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks. Wow. I guess it's better than the guano mines, but otoh, they pay a lot better. Hard to believe it would be worth it to ship stuff from the US all the way to this place, or anywhere like it. Definitely they knowingly took tv's and monitors in Baltimore County until this opened, and probably still do. Just Sunday a friend of mine told me how he missed the annual neighborhood dumpster and didn't know what to do with a whole door, but he put it out, and the county took it. I've seen them take kitchen cabinets too. But they did cut out once a month bulk collection (big things) and now one has to phone someone, and agree on a day to put it out. And pay for it in most cases. Remove NOPSAM to email me.. |
#12
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
Al Bundy ha escrito: mm wrote in : Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even the lead along that surface can escape. As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it be worth something? (The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.) Remove NOPSAM to email me.. I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks. that is known as e-waste dumping. Our post -consumer residue ends up ****ing over the envirnoment in the developing world. see these links: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1839997.stm and http://lowendmac.com/archive/02/0503.html and http://www.tchd.org/pdfs/electronic_waste.pdf and http://www.eldis.org/static/DOC12678.htm apparently there was a treaty ( Basel Convention) , which the United States has not ratified (along with almost any other environmental initiative, Kyoto etc, the US government just does not want to know. They probably owe so many favours to corporate interests that nothing ever gets done. -B. |
#13
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
I see no reason why the plastic and occasional metal casings can't be
recycled. The rest can go into an incinerator. |
#14
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
|
#15
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
JW wrote:
On 17 Oct 2006 06:36:10 -0700 wrote in Message id: . com: I see no reason why the plastic and occasional metal casings can't be recycled. The rest can go into an incinerator. Somehow, the thought of incinerating lead does not make me comfortable. Not to mention the toxic gases from the electronic bits. Printed circuit boards have been burnt to recover the metals in EPA licensed ovens for decades. The metal vapor condenses in the stack, then the metals are separated chemically. A Japanese company has a patent for a process that shreds scrap fiberglass PC boards, then dissolves the metals in acid. The scrap fiberglass is washed, and mixed with raw fiberglass to make things like sinks and bathtubs. -- Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85. Michael A. Terrell Central Florida |
#16
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 06:18:22 -0400, JW wrote:
On 17 Oct 2006 06:36:10 -0700 wrote in Message id: .com: I see no reason why the plastic and occasional metal casings can't be recycled. The rest can go into an incinerator. Somehow, the thought of incinerating lead does not make me comfortable. Not to mention the toxic gases from the electronic bits. There isn't much in the universe that couldn't be recycled if you could figure out a convenient way to separate it from other bits. |
#17
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
b wrote: that is known as e-waste dumping. Our post -consumer residue ends up ****ing over the envirnoment in the developing world. see these links: This exists on a much, much larger scale in the industry known as shipbreaking. When oceangoing vessels are retired, they often get sent to a third world country, where they are taken onto the beach and broken down into smaller pieces. A Canadian photographer named Edward Burtynsky specializes in photographing shipbreaking. There's a link to shipbreaking at his website. http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/ http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/WORKS/Ships/Ships.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Burtynsky Look for his book "Manufactured Landscapes : The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky." |
#18
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"Al Bundy" wrote in message ... I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks. Yes, and they aren't following the EU protocols for handling such hazardous waste. |
#19
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"Al Bundy" wrote in message I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks. I guess there is some money to be made from them. I know of a plant being built in Florida that will specialize in recycling electronics. Used to be some gold in the connectors but I think much has been eliminated. There must be a lot of bulk in that stuff. I'm just thinking of my personal use over the last 15 - 20 years or so. I'm on my fifth monitor, at least the fourth computer (some were upgraded in the same case), three printers moved on, two TVs. Makes for a fair amount of bulk for just one person. |
#20
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"Edwin Pawlowski" ) writes:
"Al Bundy" wrote in message I saw some show on TV a bit back where in some poor country they get mountains of junk electronics appliances (locally or on barges, don't recall exactly) and poor locals pick through them getting specs of all kinds of stuff to raise a few bucks. I guess there is some money to be made from them. I know of a plant being built in Florida that will specialize in recycling electronics. Used to be some gold in the connectors but I think much has been eliminated. There are two issues there. The first is keeping unneeded things out of the landfill. The second is recovering some of the material. The recovery is I gather expensive compared to what they recover, and the materials needed for the recovery is toxic. So when it's shipped over to third world countries, the danger comes because they are trying to make money off it, and take steps that wouldn't be allowed in North America. The toxic stuff ends up in the water table over there, rather than in North America, though at least when it's shipped over there, they are trying to do recovery. There must be a lot of bulk in that stuff. I'm just thinking of my personal use over the last 15 - 20 years or so. I'm on my fifth monitor, at least the fourth computer (some were upgraded in the same case), three printers moved on, two TVs. Makes for a fair amount of bulk for just one person. If people simply did some stripping themselves before tossing, a good portion of the bulk would diminish. If people throwing out computers would take the electronics out, and then get the metal casing to metal recycling, that does take care of much of the bulk. Same with printers, get the circuit boards out of the plastic. Not a perfect solution, but better than nothing. I've never tossed something that is intact. But then I want the parts myself. So I will strip a bad hard drive down, get the magnets out of it, and the metal from them goes to metal recycling. This is not even some great skill, if people can screw together an Ikea table, they can strip down their computer before tossing. But then there's an interesting point. If I come across a computer waiting for the garbage, if it's intact (and of interest), I'd make the effort to bring it home. But the more that's been stripped, the less likely I will. I may take parts, if anything interesting remains. A complete unit might find someone who can fix it or make use of it (a lot of electronics is tossed for reasons other than it's broken), but a stripped unit won't. And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items, at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection. Yet I imagine there is much that can't find a market, because it's old or obscure, the sorts of things I'd really like to come across. The rest is likely stripped, but again, I wonder if they seek the hard to reuse things like the gold on connectors, rather than the parts themselves. Michael |
#21
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
Michael Black wrote: And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items, at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection. Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster, prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking, sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck, I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run. The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking. I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction. |
#22
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
For an excellent resource for connecting people who have usable items
they don't want with people who would like to have them, check out www.freecycle.org. It's set up as a way to keep things out of landfills, when possible. Jo Ann Beloved Leader wrote: Michael Black wrote: And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items, at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection. Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster, prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking, sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck, I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run. The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking. I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction. |
#23
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"Beloved Leader" wrote in message ups.com... The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking. Contact the city government and tell them what you want to do. |
#24
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
Beloved Leader wrote:
Michael Black wrote: And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items, at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection. Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster, prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking, sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck, I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run. The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking. I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction. You can easily intercept a lot of good stuff if you post on craigslist asking for free broken electronics. I used to pick up loads of good stuff but eventually I had far too many projects and no need for any more electronics. |
#25
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"Beloved Leader" wrote in message The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking. There are some silly laws that say once something is in the dump, it must stay there. Our town used to have an area where you could put unwanted stuff for others to take, but no more. |
#26
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
On 17 Oct 2006 14:45:42 -0700, "Beloved Leader"
wrote: Michael Black wrote: And as electronic recycling becomes common place, I'm not fully conviced the right decisions will be made. I'd love to drop off some junk (like that I've pulled from the garbage in the first place) and be able to claim something someone else has tossed, that interests me or can finish off something I have (like claim a hard drive to go in that computer I brought home that had none). But that can't happen, because any useful items, at least here, are sold on the used market to help finance the collection. Alexandria, Virginia, 50 miles to the southwest of the original poster, prefers that "obsolete" computer equipment be turned in at the toxic waste dump (as I call it), which is open one day per week. They have a huge dumpster, open so that you can walk in, that slowly fills with CPUs, printers, and monitors. In addition, people throw in old stereo equipment and TV sets. When the coast is clear and no one is looking, sometimes I help myself to an occasional goody. Usually I can recover a toner cartridge or a needed cable. If I saw a nice open reel tape deck, I'd try as hard as I could to grab it and run. The woman who supervises the dump takes a dim view of this personal recycling. She yells at me when she sees me in there, so I've had to stop helping myself to the swag. It's a shame, too, as there is a mountain of decent stuff that ought to be free for the taking. I agree with you. I once told the story of drivign down 2nd Avenue in NYC, somewhere in the 20's and seeing a big (though only 5 or 6 foot high dumpster full of books. There were about 6 guys inside gathering books, plus I joined them of course. All hardback, on every subject. There were 3 kinds of people, those who would get in for a while, those who would just walk by, and those who would stand outside once in a while pointing to a book and asking someone to get it for them. How they could see the title on a hardback book with no dust cover, I don't know. I got about 20 or 25 books the first day, and I went back 2 out of the next 4 days. The level of books kept getting lower. There must have been 20,000 to start, and maybe 10,000 when I stopped going. But they were probably adding more books every day also. (I had to come from Brooklyn.) The weather was beautiful every day. New Yorkers are used to finding good stuff in the trash, because most aparatments are small and even in the 70's people couldnt even keep a broken 12 inch tv waiting for a time to fix it. No room. I got about 35 books in total. I have seen one of those full dumpsters being hauled away. It was an absolute heap of electronics, all headed off for destruction. Remove NOPSAM to email me.. |
#27
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
A lot of what's on TV may be "hazardous waste," but I've never had a
problem getting rid of one. I put it on the curb and it disappears long before the garbage men get to it. G |
#28
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"GWB" wrote in message news A lot of what's on TV may be "hazardous waste," but I've never had a problem getting rid of one. I put it on the curb and it disappears long before the garbage men get to it. G It's interesting that you are still able to do that, there. Over here now, the eco-police in the form of the local council, would be liable to prosecute you. Under laws that were brought in in 1990, but have only started to be enforced since 1999, they can prosecute you for all sorts of garbage related 'offences', including leaving trash out on the street on the wrong collection day. My bin men come round at 7am, so everyone leaves their garbage out the night before. Strictly speaking, this can now be declared illegal, and subject to prosecution. A person was recently prosecuted, at a cost of £6000, for putting out her rubbish a day early, because she was going on holiday. In today's paper, there is a case of a man who has been fined £100 plus another £100 in costs, because a piece of junk mail with his name on it, was found in a bag designated as being for glass and tins only. The guy was actually taking part in the scheme voluntarily, but as a result, now has a criminal record, with all the job and travel-related implications of that. There was not even any CCTV or witness evidence to support the case and, despite the guy's insistence that he did not put the item in there, because it was not even his bag, the court declared the case proved. So how does nonsense like this encourage people to become more eco and recycle friendly ? Arfa |
#29
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
On Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:42:17 -0500, GWB wrote:
A lot of what's on TV may be "hazardous waste," but I've never had a problem getting rid of one. I put it on the curb and it disappears long before the garbage men get to it. G Even though the people in my n'hood are not rich, I dont' get the feeling that many know how to fix much. That's ok. I'm usually the last stop before things can't be repaired by an amateur. And pros don't want to bother. Remove NOPSAM to email me.. |
#30
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
|
#31
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
"mm" wrote in message ... Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? (The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.) In Seattle, you have to pay normally to get rid of tv's and monitors. They won't take your garbage if they are seen in it., Bob |
#32
Posted to sci.electronics.repair,alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
recycling tv's etc.
mm wrote: Baltimore County just started accepting, at one of its solid waste facilities, tv's, computer monitors, vcr's, and some other electronic things. How much recycling is actually done to these things and how important is it to recycle them? They always mention lead first as a dangerous substance in tv's and monitors, but it seems to me, all the lead is in the front panel of the CRT, and it can't escape to poison the earth. Even if the glass is broken, only a little surface is exposed, and I'm not sure if even the lead along that surface can escape. As to the rest, do they clip out the transistors to recycle the germanium? How much recycling do they really do? I was told by a recycler that no one will pay for the stuff, and the counties have to pay them to come and get it. If it were really recycled, wouldn't it be worth something? (The radio didn't say one way or the other if they would now refuse to pick up such things curbside, as they have been doing.) Remove NOPSAM to email me.. Turns out, from some sites I saw a few months back and am too lazy to look up, a lot of the stuff gets sent to third world countries where, as usual, badly paid and often underage workers get to snarf up lots of heavy metals and assorted other toxins in order to disassemble the crap to reclaim the 30 cents of gold plating on the contacts, or some such. So goeth the world. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Reasonable site to purchase clear liners for newspaper recycling bags? | Home Repair | |||
Is it safe for kids to take apart electronics? | Electronics Repair | |||
recycling old keys | UK diy | |||
Strange recycling people | Home Ownership | |||
Recycling - how do others cope? | UK diy |