Televisions pose similar problems and may be incorporated in any new state recycling program, those involved say. Californians Against Waste, which proposed the advance fee, estimates that as many as 2.5 million monitors alone become obsolete in California every year. Only 15 percent are recycled, said Mark Murray, the group's lobbyist. A fee would generate revenue to promote donations and recycling, and ensure safe disposal of unusable equipment, he said. The cathode ray tube, the part of the monitor that converts electronic signals into visual images, is the focus because each contains up to 7 pounds of lead, a known toxin.
Lead is in the monitor glass to protect users from harmful radiation.
It is illegal to dump monitors in landfills, but that hasn't stopped the flow. They're big and bulky. People don't know what to do with them. Laura Wessner, an IBM spokeswoman, said consumers and manufacturers should share responsibility for the problem. About 800 computers have been received since November, Wessner said.