Monday, February 8th, 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. - Electronics and Special Waste

Amy Chan-Hilton, Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Dep, Florida State University

This paper presents the results of a study on the current CRT waste stream in the state of Florida (volume of CRT discarded, existing facilities, practices) as well as makes projections on trends in future CRT waste streams. The goal of this research to answer questions about trends in volume of discarded CRTs in the future, current CRT waste management practices and trends, and capacity for handling increase in CRT disposal. A survey was conducted among hazardous waste managers and electronics recyclers in Florida.  A materials flow model that tracks CRTs from the time a consumer purchases a television or monitor to when it is stored, reused, recycled, and disposed is developed. In addition, a user-friendly management tool is developed to allow managers, regulators, and policy makers to compare scenarios for the recycling and disposal of CRTs in the state of Florida.

The results of this project have multiple direct benefits to end users. Projections on future CRT waste streams are necessary in order to align management practices, infrastructure options, and potential policies with the demands of future CRT discards. Synthesis of data on the current status of CRT processing and disposal practices in Florida will be beneficial to municipalities, reuse, demanufacturing, and recycling facility managers, and regulators. Estimates on future CRT trends, based on the materials flow modeling, will provide data for managers and policy makers on the local and state level make decisions about expanding infrastructure to handle CRT waste management. The spreadsheet-based management tool developed in this research will allow end users to analyze policy and management practices not specifically addressed in this research and/or use local- or region-specific input data. Issues such as user disposal fees or manufacturer fees and policy changes will be analyzed with this tool to assist the end user.