Frustrated Resident Rushes to Save What They Can After Disturbing Discovery at Local Landfill

Before the dawn of fancy flat-screen televisions, most of us probably remember growing up with those bulky box TVs where cable was the only option. Back then, they seemed revolutionary, but now, those TVs are being tossed in landfills, where they leach toxic chemicals into the environment.

Thankfully, some people are rescuing these relics of a bygone era and recycling them instead, like one Reddit user did.

What happened?

In the r/crt subreddit, which stands for cathode ray tube TVs (the old-style ones), the poster shared a photo of at least a dozen TVs they had saved from a nearby landfill. Some were the old-school type, but several flat screens and other electronics were also in the mix.

"Every week my local dump fills a shipping container with old TV's. I rescue what I can but run the risk of being caught stealing the township's precious garbage," the OP shared.

"By the way I have never taken something out of this bin that wasn't working. People just throw these away because they're old," the OP added in the comments.

"How dare you keep these from the landfill," another joked .

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"I doubt they would even care if anything you're saving the environment and preserving tech ," someone else said .

Why is electronic waste concerning?

Most of us have heard about the devastating impact of plastic pollution, but e-waste is even worse in some ways. Electronics contain heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury, which can contaminate the environment if they're improperly disposed of.

According to Children's Environmental Health Collaborative , it's estimated that e-waste accounts for around 70% of reported hazardous chemicals and other forms of pollution in the environment.

Since most e-waste is shipped to low- and middle-income countries for sorting and processing, workers are frequently exposed to these chemicals, making them vulnerable to respiratory and other health problems.

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics? Giving me money back Letting me trade for new stuff Making it as easy as possible Keeping my stuff out of landfills Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"As many as 18 million children and adolescents and 12.9 million women, including an unknown number of women of childbearing age, may be at risk from adverse health outcomes linked to e-waste recycling," the World Health Organization reported .

In addition, electronic waste is harmful to the economy, as it leads to a significant loss of potential revenue. Sircel stated that at least $57 billion is lost to the global economy annually because of squandered metals such as gold, copper, silver, and lithium. The need to continuously source new materials for products such as electric cars , which require lithium batteries, drives up production and labor costs as well.

Are companies doing anything about this?

Several companies, such as Apple , Best Buy , and Target , offer trade-in programs where customers can exchange their old electronics for store credit or cash. If they're not eligible for credit, the retailers will recycle them for free.

Startups such as Trashie have also launched recycling programs, including the Tech Take Back Box , which allows users to send in unwanted gadgets and receive rewards like food delivery credits, discounted movie tickets, and more.

What else is being done about e-waste?

Scientists are working on ways to recycle circuit boards in old phones and laptops, which could make a big dent in the electronic waste piling up in landfills. Robots powered by artificial intelligence are also lending a hand, as they can sort through e-waste and remove batteries much faster than humans can, and contribute to a circular economy .

If you have a junk drawer full of old phones and other accessories, consider selling , donating them, or bringing them to a retailer in exchange for store credit. Whether you're able to make money off your electronics or not, it can still feel good knowing you're helping the planet and keeping the items in circulation.

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Resident frustrated after discovering troubling scene at local dump: 'I rescue what I can' first appeared on The Cool Down .