Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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Azura Skye
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recycling a broken monitorWhere can I take a broken monitor? It's slightly functional so I don't know if I could donate it somewhere - otherwise where could I put it? Any advice? Thanks ; )
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Jonnyboy
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Local tip will take it and dispose to WEEE standard. I wouldn't bother to try and pass it on to anybody, even if slightly functional, as fully working CRT monitors aren't worth anything.
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FM
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not only not worth anything - any community group / charity / re-use organisation would have to dispose of it as WEEE, which is hazardous waste, and they get charged for the disposal. if a private individual takes it to the civic waste disposal site as domestic waste they should not be charged.
They can be recycled, but it takes specialist equipment to do it, and the cost of recycling outweighs the value of the materials reclaimed. all the same - they have to be recycled, they cannot be landfilled. rest assured that when you take your broken monitor to the corporation tip, it will be disposed of in as environmentally sound way as possible.
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dpack
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or posted to somewhere small children can bash and melt it into it's valuable elements
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gnome
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actually, monitors and Tvs are one of the things that are being strictly erm .. monitored (sorry). all CRTs are classed as WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) as well as being classed as Hazardous Waste, so LA sites must keep a record of exactly where they are sent to - and it is illegal to export them to other countries (apart from Wales - which has the nation's largest and most advanced CRT reprocessing equipment). even the vehicles transporting them must carry proper waste transfer notes, and can be stopped for inspection by the police. any registered AATF that fails to come up to high enough standards regarding keeping accurate records to prove the WEEE has been disposed of properly is in danger of losing it's license.
i work for a re-use / recycling organisation which is an AATF, so i know what is involved. i'm a bit of an expert in this field.
a partially functioning monitor would automatically fail it's safety test. H&S regulations demand that visual equipmnet - such as monitors - be in good working condition, as well as passing PAT tests etc. using an old monitor that does not work properly can be very bad for the eyesight, and cause migraines or even trigger epileptic fits.
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Azura Skye
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thanks gnome - that monitor is still in the garage methinks!
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gnome
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Cathode Ray Tube monitors and televisions are a big problem in the UK, and are a prime example of the main problems concerning recycling. you can probably pick up a good monitor from a car boot sale for five or ten quid, but getting rid of one is another matter. there are a lot of valuable elements inside a monitor - definetely worth more than five pounds - but getting them out is no easy task. there is a lot of copper wire used for the magnet - but that has to be extracted, unwound, and then have the old enamel insulation removed before it can be melted down for scrap. there are valuable elements in the circuit boards - but again it's a messy and difficult process to seperate them. the biggest part is the tube and screen. this is made from three different types of glass fused together - and the inside of the screen has a phosphur coating that has to be removed. the tube has to be cut in half by a sonic lance - nothing else can do it cleanly.
so although there is value in most of the parts - actually seperating and processing them is a very costly business - it costs more than the value of the raw materials. however, it has to be done, so the recycling plants that do it (there are very few capable of the job) have to charge for it in order to recuperate their losses.
as a member of the public, you can usually take your old monitor / TV to the municipal refuse tip, and they will send it off themselves - usually they will not charge you. commercial companies have to pay - usually around £7 per monitor.
TFT monitors are more environmentally friendly (as far as we know), and eventually they will completely replace the CRT monitors and TVs.
if i were you, i'd get rid of that old monitor now. they may not charge yet, but i think it may not be too long before LAs start charging domestic users too.
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