America's TV stations will make a historic switch next month
from analog to digital signals. But what promises to bring a sharper picture is
also raising the curtain on a big environmental unknown across California: What
will happen to the millions of old TV sets that no longer work?
It's illegal to simply toss the estimated 2 million old TVs - chock-full of
hazardous waste - into the garbage.
"We're preparing for a tidal wave. We've already seen more televisions being
donated and we expect to see more as the switch-over comes," said James David, a
spokesman for Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin
Counties.
On Feb. 17, older analog televisions that receive signals "over the air" from
a rooftop antenna or with "rabbit ears" will stop working.
The government's billion-dollar program to help people prepare for the transition to digital television has run out of money, potentially leaving millions of viewers without coupons to buy converter boxes they need to keep their analog TV sets working after the switch.The government's billion-dollar program to help people prepare for the transition to digital television has run out of money, potentially leaving millions of viewers without coupons to buy converter boxes they need to keep their analog TV sets working after the switch.