4
tile manufacturers, and glass companies, not all of these solutions will work for
each recycler. Besides, the shipment cost of cathode-ray tube glass particularly in
Asia is no longer viable with the evaporating demand for the cathode-ray tube
in local markets in many Asian countries like India, China, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The surge in flat screen technology has replaced most of the cathode-ray tube
monitors and television screens that we use at work and at home. The questions
remaining are what has happened to those cathode-ray tube monitors and televisions, and how many more are still out there? Have they been recycled, or have they
found a permanent new home in a landfill? Therefore, it is important that focus
should be given on recycling of cathode-ray tube technology, which can address the
above problem with minimal environmental impacts.
1.2 Current Status of the Waste Cathode-Ray Tube
Many countries such as the United States, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and
Turkey are having serious challenges in dealing with a waste cathode-ray tube.
While electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops seem to have shorter
and shorter lives, consumers tend to hold on to televisions for more than a decade
before they hit the recycling stream. Therefore, it is difficult to phase out completely
the prospects for recycling cathode-ray tube in televisions in the near future though
their number is decreasing significantly. In 2015, the Consumer Electronics
Association (CTA) conducted a survey to determine how many cathode-ray tube
devices might still be in use or in storage somewhere in US households. The study
found about 34% of households in the United States still has at least one, down from
41% in 2014. The supply seems to be shrinking, but it is still substantial. It is estimated that 6.9 million tons of cathode-ray tube waste (43% of total E-waste) in the
United States are yet to be collected from residential and commercial premises for
recycling process (Singh et al. 2016a, b). The situation is further gloomy in Asian
countries like China and India. Even countries like Turkey generated 0.22 kg
cathode- ray tube per person in 2015 (Öztürk 2015). South Korea generated more
than 8 million units of cathode-ray tube television waste in 2004–2005 out of which
less than 3 million units, i.e., 37.5%, were recycled (Lee et al. 2007). It is estimated
that 74 million televisions and 190 million personal computers will become obsolete in China (UNEP 2012), and cathode-ray tube monitor will comprise of 80% of
E-waste (Song et al. 2012). It could be added that 6.3 million tons of waste was
generated from cathode-ray tube monitor globally in 2014 (Baldé et al. 2015) with
the majority of cathode-ray tube waste came from Asia as shown in Fig. 1.3.
With today’s low scrap commodity prices, finding sufficient consumers of
cathode- ray tube glass at a reasonable price is a significant challenge for the recycler. Failed cathode-ray tube recycling operations have made headlines in recent
years because either the companies could not sustain financial backing or they could
not find markets for the material. Some companies weighed down with cathode-ray
tubes they could not recycle or move downstream and ended up stockpiling or
S. Shams
tile manufacturers, and glass companies, not all of these solutions will work for
each recycler. Besides, the shipment cost of cathode-ray tube glass particularly in
Asia is no longer viable with the evaporating demand for the cathode-ray tube
in local markets in many Asian countries like India, China, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The surge in flat screen technology has replaced most of the cathode-ray tube
monitors and television screens that we use at work and at home. The questions
remaining are what has happened to those cathode-ray tube monitors and televisions, and how many more are still out there? Have they been recycled, or have they
found a permanent new home in a landfill? Therefore, it is important that focus
should be given on recycling of cathode-ray tube technology, which can address the
above problem with minimal environmental impacts.
1.2 Current Status of the Waste Cathode-Ray Tube
Many countries such as the United States, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and
Turkey are having serious challenges in dealing with a waste cathode-ray tube.
While electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops seem to have shorter
and shorter lives, consumers tend to hold on to televisions for more than a decade
before they hit the recycling stream. Therefore, it is difficult to phase out completely
the prospects for recycling cathode-ray tube in televisions in the near future though
their number is decreasing significantly. In 2015, the Consumer Electronics
Association (CTA) conducted a survey to determine how many cathode-ray tube
devices might still be in use or in storage somewhere in US households. The study
found about 34% of households in the United States still has at least one, down from
41% in 2014. The supply seems to be shrinking, but it is still substantial. It is estimated that 6.9 million tons of cathode-ray tube waste (43% of total E-waste) in the
United States are yet to be collected from residential and commercial premises for
recycling process (Singh et al. 2016a, b). The situation is further gloomy in Asian
countries like China and India. Even countries like Turkey generated 0.22 kg
cathode- ray tube per person in 2015 (Öztürk 2015). South Korea generated more
than 8 million units of cathode-ray tube television waste in 2004–2005 out of which
less than 3 million units, i.e., 37.5%, were recycled (Lee et al. 2007). It is estimated
that 74 million televisions and 190 million personal computers will become obsolete in China (UNEP 2012), and cathode-ray tube monitor will comprise of 80% of
E-waste (Song et al. 2012). It could be added that 6.3 million tons of waste was
generated from cathode-ray tube monitor globally in 2014 (Baldé et al. 2015) with
the majority of cathode-ray tube waste came from Asia as shown in Fig. 1.3.
With today’s low scrap commodity prices, finding sufficient consumers of
cathode- ray tube glass at a reasonable price is a significant challenge for the recycler. Failed cathode-ray tube recycling operations have made headlines in recent
years because either the companies could not sustain financial backing or they could
not find markets for the material. Some companies weighed down with cathode-ray
tubes they could not recycle or move downstream and ended up stockpiling or
S. Shams