The Green Parent

In case you haven’t heard, starting next year (February 18, 2009) television programs will be broadcast in digital format only, and if you don’t have a digital TV, you may be looking at a blank screen. In anticipation of the new broadcasting, many Americans are ditching their old analog tubes for the new digital models. That’s good news for retailers, but bad news for the environment, where electronics clog landfills and leach heavy metals, like copper and lead into our groundwater and soil.

Fortunately, one retailer (that has profited heavily from the demand for new TVs) launched a new program yesterday to help ease this environmental burden. Best Buy’s new electronic recycling program is now in effect in Virginia, Washington DC, Baltimore, California, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Click here for a list of stores participating in Best Buy’s E-Waste Recycling Program.

Under the e-cycling program, customers can now bring in up to 2 electronic gadgets a day (from televisions to computers to cell phones) for free recycling. If all goes well, this trial program will set the stage for free nationwide ecycling at all Best Buy stores.

If you don’t want to buy new, you can get a TV converter box that will allow you to pick up the new digital broadcast on your old anlalog television. You can even apply for a discount from the government’s TV Converter Box Coupon Program. So you don’t have to toss your old TV to the curb, but if you do decide to upgrade, just make sure your old model is e-cycled properly.

Want to learn more? Check out this post for info on what, how, and where to e-cycle your electronic gadgets.