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Today NextWorth, of Lawrence, Mass., which describes itself as a consumer electronics trade-in company, unveiled a program to receive old cell phones and other devices and pay out cash for them if they're still usable, or responsibly recycle them if they're not.

"It seems like every time you turn around a new and better smartphone or HDTV set goes on sale. That's great for consumers who are eager to upgrade to the latest gadgets but it's maybe not so good for the environment. The bad news is 60% of Americans are not recycling their old gadgets. The good news is that resellers and manufacturers are rising to the occasion and implementing their own recycling services. In this Gadget Census report we look at how consumers across the country are being green with gadgets and what is being done to help manage the growing number of devices that are turning into e-waste every day. "

Stock photos of old tvs.

Links to images of old televisions. Royalty free, but initial price for downloading.

Wall Street Journal article by Ryan Knutson, 7/2/09. Small electronics makers are struggling with -- and fighting against -- new state laws mandating they pay for electronic recycling programs for consumers. Five companies, including ViewSonic Corp., CTX Technology Inc. and ToteVision Inc., are threatening litigation against Washington state's new electronic waste law, which requires manufacturers to fund recycling and collection services for old TVs, personal computers and monitors. The companies argue the law, which took effect this year, charges them too much and improperly includes out-of-state businesses. Meanwhile, the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group representing 2,000 electronics companies, is negotiating with the New York City officials to change a city ordinance that would require electronics companies to pick up old gadgets door-to-door. The CEA says the ordinance, scheduled to take effect July 31, would cost the industry $200 million annually.

KVUE News, Austin, TX, 6/23/09. Includes video with reporter Elise Hu. "Austin Democrat Kirk Watson says he's stunned by a veto from Governor Rick Perry of a bill that would have encouraged people to recycle their old TVs instead of throwing them out. Watson's measure would have called for manufacturers to take back their old sets. He says the manufacturers were OK with that, and that's why he's surprised Perry tossed it out. " Comments are interesting--people are perplexed as to why legislation would be necessary to encourage recycling; apparent ignorance of cost associated with electronics recycling.

"It's not much of a stretch to liken America's relationship with cells phones to a once sizzling romance that ends in goodbye. Fated love affairs typically begin with blind infatuation and fiery passion before reality sets in, cooling the embers enough to allow more guarded, sometimes less attractive aspects of the self to surface. Interest wanes until the love object is abandoned or replaced by an alluring new one. Americans relate to cell phones in much the same way. An old phone, with once novel features that drew fascination, is discarded with hardly a thought when an updated model makes it seem obsolete. That consumers replace cell phones about every two years makes this analogy seem less silly. A parallel can be drawn, too, between the innards of a cell phone and what is revealed when one person lets another peek inside: it's not all pretty. Some nasty materials lurk behind the bright shiny casing, making cell phone disposal a knotty environmental issue, analogous to ending, with minimal damages, a relationship gone sour. "

"According to the Consumer Electronics Association, digital television sales are up over 30 percent compared to this time last year.TV sales are getting a big boost from the mandatory switch to digital TV signals.And while an estimated 76,000 households in Chicago still aren't prepared for the change, come tomorrow, TV's going digital anyway. So what happens to all those old TVs being kicked to the curb? Melville Nickerson is a staff attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center explains what to do with them." Chicago Public Radio, Eight Forty-Eight, 6/11/09. Podcast.

Sony is introducing a new scrappage scheme which will hand out up to a maximum of £150 to those who purchase a new television set from the consumer electronics giant. The recycling scheme, which will involve handing back you old TV set, will start on the 21st of August; 26-inch Bravia purchases will attract a £50 cashback whereas purchasers of a 46-incher like the KDL-46WE5 will get the full £150 discount.

A Monterey Park company has been caught by federal officials trying to send 32,000 pounds of hazardous waste from old televisions and computer monitors to China in violation of federal environmental regulations. The company, ZKW Trading, attempted to ship two 40-foot containers filled with cathode ray tubes (CRTs) - the video display parts from televisions and computer monitors that are high in lead content - to Hong Kong

Seven months after one company bid on a $40,000 contract to recycle the electronics Jacksonville residents put out with their trash, City Hall plans to start over from scratch.The reason: fear that those old televisions and computers might be dumped half way around the world.

Disposal and recycling standards for old computer equipment and other electronic waste must be harmonized for this rapidly growing problem to be dealt with effectively across national borders. An analysis of the current rules and regulations is reported in the latest issue of the International Journal of Environmental Engineering.

Welcome to the Consumer Reports' Electronics Reuse & Recycling Center. Here you'll find solutions for dealing with your old Computer, Cell phone, TV and Other electronics, plus tips for buying new electronics that may last longer. You'll also find information about the growing problem of E-waste and what government and industry are doing to address it.

Industry groups filed a lawsuit on Friday to block New York City's new electronics recycling law from taking effect next Friday. The law, passed in March 2008 by the City Council and finalized in regulations that the Department of Sanitation issued in April, requires manufacturers to take back their electronics, and provide pick-up service for items weighing 15 pounds or more. Starting in 2010, consumers will face a $100 fine for throwing old computers, televisions and other gadgets into the trash. Manufacturers who fail to recycle merchandise returned to them could be fined for each violation. The lawsuit, which was jointly filed by the Consumer Electronics Association and the Information Technology Industry Council in United States District Court in Manhattan, challenges numerous aspects of the law and regulations. The suit argues, among other things, that the law would improperly affect products made before the law took effect, that the pick-up requirement would be overly burdensome, and that the law would force companies to collect products that they may not have made. The suit also raises constitutional issues, asserting that the City Council's action amounts to an illegal effort to regulate interstate commerce.

How--and why--we should make sure our old cell phones, TVs and PCs get dismantled properly; Time magazine article by Bryan Walsh, 1/8/09. Includes a good series of photos of China's "e-waste village."

Individuals who are moving can request the service from NorthStar, a Los Angeles-based moving company. E-Cycle Environmental employees will pick up old electronics, such as computers, televisions, batteries and other devices. The Los Angeles-area based electronics recycler will recycle the items and guarantees it will not export material to developing countries.

Millions of printed circuit boards from discarded electronics are tossed into landfills every year. In addition to the volume of waste, the material can leach chemicals into the soil. As an alternative, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China are finding various ways to reuse the panels, including as an additive in asphalt.

University of China is using ground-up circuit boards to strengthen cement