Gadgets to garbage

It's not just the dropping cost that's accelerating the tech turnover, it's fashion, says Danielle Levitas, consumer research analyst for market research firm IDC. "We're starting to see people buying not out of necessity, but because something is newer, bigger, or flatter."

Indeed, flatter was the rage this Christmas and is likely to be for several years with flat-screen video display prices dropping fast.

The switch could accelerate because of another FCC ruling, which sets 2006 as the year for the US to leap to digital television. That alone will turn the 230 million to 280 million cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions in US homes into dinosaurs and begin their march toward the dump, Ms. Levitas and others warn.

That's bad because CRTs contain four to eight pounds of lead shielding that can easily leach into groundwater, environmentalists and state officials say. Four states - Massachusetts, California, Maine, and Minnesota - now prohibit landfilling CRTs. More are likely to follow. The result: more exports of CRTs abroad, Smith says.

Recycling efforts for e-waste, or "e-scrap" as the 400-plus member electronics recycling industry calls it, are still in their infancy. Just one-tenth of e-waste, about 200,000 tons a year, gets recycled. And, while thousands of donated used cellphones have found their way into the hands of the needy or are resold, less than 1 percent of the millions of phones discarded annually are recycled for raw materials or refurbished, INFORM says.

Eventually, the private sector could boost recycling in a big way. But so far, state and federal efforts have fallen short, environmentalists charge.

To fix the problem in the long run will require increased durability, standardized design, designs that facilitate disassembly, and reduction of toxic components. The ultimate solution, Smith says, would be for the federal government to require manufacturers to take financial responsibility for the products from beginning to end.

That approach, already mandated in Europe, would give them incentives to design products with less hazardous materials and make them more recyclable. But environmentalists agree the US remains significantly behind in dealing with its mounting e-waste problem.

Recycling electronic components, or "e-scrap," is a big business still in its infancy. In the past decade, the industry has grown to $700 million and more than 400 companies. The faster pace of electronic obsolesce means the business expects to quadruple in size by 2010, according to the International Association of Electronics Recyclers. While most programs are geared toward corporate recycling, there are several programs for consumers:

• Electronics recycling: Go to the Environmental Protection Agency's e-waste site: www.plugintorecycling.org. The National Recycling Coalition has helpful information at: www.nrc-recycle.org/resources/electronics/links.htm.

• Cell phones: They can be a lifeline for victims of domestic violence. To donate your phone, go to the "Wireless Foundation" site: www.wirelessfoundation.org. Or go to www.recyclewirelessphones.org for another list of options.

• Computers: Manufacturers are starting to offer recycling programs. For Dell, go to www.dell.com click on "home and home office," then scroll to the "recycle" button. For Hewlett Packard, go to www.hp.com, click on "home and home office," then type "recycle" into the search box. Check with your manufacturer for other programs.

For details on how to donate a computer, go to www.techsoup.org, click on "products," then "recycled hardware," and go to the link: "Ten Tips of Donating a Computer." After that, you can click on "Donate Hardware" to find a list of recyclers near you.

Warning: Be sure you erase personal information saved on your hard drive before you donate or recycle to avoid identify theft.

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