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Please Take My Children to Work Day
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THE LEAN GREEN FAMILY
How to Save Money by Living an Eco-Friendly Life
You Don't Have to Trash Your TV
by Leah Ingram
This year, D-Day fell on June 12th... That is, it was the day that all television signals switched from analog to digital.
While people had plenty of time to prepare themselves for the switch, a recent news report noted that about 3 million Americans still hadn’t secured
a digital-conversion box for their television or signed up for some kind of paid television service as of Friday.
I’m sure this changeover from analog to digital wasn’t great news for anyone on a budget who is used to getting TV for free.
These folks have three options to ensure that they can continue to watch TV from now on:
- Get a new TV that receives a digital signal
- Sign up for cable or satellite TV
- Get a digital-conversation box for their existing TV
Now plenty of people have opted for #3 and then got one of those coupons
for a digital-conversion box. Only problem? They discovered there was a waiting list to actually receive one.
Here’s what I’m worried about: What’s going to happen to all of those analog TVs if people
opt for #1? That’s why I hope that folks don’t just toss their TV in the trash instead and consider one of these green ideas:
- Hold on to your old TV and then recycle it during a household hazardous waste collection day. Most communities have these recycling collection days for old electronics, which are then safely recycled (or so one hopes). To find out when one is happening where you live, contact your local government or log onto Earth 911. You can plug in the name of the item you want to recycle and your zip code, and Earth 911 will point you to someplace nearby.
- Ask a retailer to recycle your old TV for you when you buy a new TV. Many stores already offer recycling programs for electronics, but the catch is that they won’t take that old piece of equipment off of your hands unless you’re buying something new. However, thanks to the EPA’s TV Recycling Challenge, people who own TVs made by Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba may have an easier time recycling these brands.
- Donate your TV to a school or college. Whenever a camera crew has come to my home to film me for a TV segment, they always have a small TV in tow. By hooking this TV up to their camera, the camera person has a real-time look at what he or she is filming. I would imagine, then that students in broadcast journalism programs have similar setups. And who knows? With budget cuts these days, these programs may not be able to invest in new equipment (like TV sets) and may gladly accept your donation. Similarly, drama departments might be able to use an old TV on a theater set.
How have you handled things on D-Day? For us, it was just another day because we already subscribe to digital cable. But I imagine for millions of
Americans, June 12th was a bit of a home entertainment nightmare.
Most mothers teach their kids to cook and clean. Leah Ingram’s mother taught her to compost.
These days she’s passing along this green message to her own daughters as they all try to live a green and frugal
lifestyle as The Lean Green Family. Visit her blog, Suddenly Frugal.
*The opinions stated aren't necessarily those of MommaSaid or its principals. Seek professional advice before beginning any health program.
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