• BusinessGreen.com, Wednesday, February 20, 2008 12:30 PM

In one year, tens of millions of televisions may instantly become obsolete with the switch to digital from analog, but a low-cost converter is available to allow consumers to continue to use their existing sets, Conrad MacKerron thinks it is a safe bet that millions of people will decide to upgrade.

What will happen to the old TVs pushed aside by the shiny new mega-screen units? Many will be pushed into closets or tossed into dumpsters. And although old TVs are loaded with lead that can spill out of broken cathode ray tubes, only about 10 states have programs to recycle electronic waste - and even they lack convenient drop-off locations that would attract large numbers of consumers.

At the moment, almost 90 per cent of e-waste - computers, iPods, TVs, etc. -- is ending up in landfills or getting sent overseas. But what has shown to draw meaningful consumer response are recycling events staged at familiar places, with one example being one at the Mall of America that had to shut down early due to a massive traffic jam.

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