Recycling (Going Green)

[MarySue1964]

We have an old Zenith console TV that is on it's last legs.  It's not quite dead yet so my stepfather wants to get as much use out of it as possible while it still works somewhat.  However, once it dies what's the best way to dispose of it that's environmentally responsible?  One option my stepfather is considering is using the old TV as a stand for its flat screen replacement and stack the new TV on top of the old TV.  If he wanted to get it out of the house that may present some problems.  D.C.'s electronic recycling collection sites don't accept console TVs.  They have to go out as bulk trash and you have to call to schedule a pick up.  However, when I called the the Department of Public Works and asked what happened to console TVs once they were picked up, they couldn't give me a satisfactory answer to that.  And Best Buy, your site says that you will haul away a console TV if its replacement is delivered but what do you do with console TVs once you haul them away?

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Here is a video about it: http://www.livestream.com/thebby/video?clipId=flv_4647d133-b208-4ba9-97dd-f4b25877f284

[MarySue1964]

As informative as that video was, it didn't explain how the recyclying facility would break down the cabinetry of console TVs to dismantle the cathode ray tubes inside.  After all it was the cabinetry that made console TVs such pretty pieces of furniture which is why people would hold onto them for so long.  And I suppose that's why some communities classify console TVs as "furniture" when it comes to disposal and won't accept them at e-waste recycling collection sites.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

I apologize. I did not realize that it was one of the in a wooden cabinet kind of t.v. For some reason console didn't quite click when I read it. Best Buy does not accept console televisions of any type.

[MarySue1964]

So I guess now that you know it's a cabinet style TV, it's okay to stack a flat screen TV on top of it as long as the top of the cabinet style TV is wide enough to accomodate the flat screen TV.  By the way, have other users out there had difficulty disposing of console TVs?  How many of you found ways around those difficulties to dispose of your old console TVs safely and environmentally responsibly?

[MarySue1964]

I found this on a website describing how the father of one family found a way to recycle the cabinet around a console TV.

http://bananaforce.com/pivot/entry.php?id=23&w=bananaforces_how_to

It doesn't say whether any electronic waste recycling collection site accepted the electronic components of the console TV once they were removed to remake the remaining outer cabinet.

Has anyone else done anything similar with a console TV?

[MarySue1964]

My stepfather likes the idea of gutting the electronics of the console TV when it finally dies and saving the outer body to reuse as a cabinet for the TV's ultimate replacement.  However, one major problem is that the back is solid.  It's not like the REALLY old-fashioned console TV's where the back could be unscrewed.  Also, unlike the father in the web page linked in my previous post, neither my stepfather or I have the electronic or carpentry skills for such an endeavor.  So where could we find someone who would be capable of gutting the electronics and rebuilding the outer cabinet to reuse to stack other things in?  My stepfather would like to stack his recording device and maybe the recordings themselves inside if the cabinet could be rebuilt.

[MarySue1964]

I took a closer look at the back and found that it CAN be unscrewed.  So that will make the gutting the electronics part easier.  YAY!  I just called Geek Squad and found that they can take care of half the problem for us.  Namely, gutting the electronics and recycling them responsibly.  I really had to make myself understood that we weren't looking to have anything else installed inside the cabinet once the original electronics were gutted.  However, since remaking the remaining outer cabinet would require a separate skill set, that would require a separate person.  We would have to find a carpenter somewhere else.  So does anyone have any ideas on how to go about looking for a carpenter to remake the outer cabinet?