the tyranny of fashion: Changing Television...

With Australian television about to change to digital, the rate of televisions being thrown away has dramatically risen. Why is television changing? According to the Australian Government website it is to keep up to date with technology, to free up broadcast space and to improve your viewing experience. I don’t know about anyone else by my television works just fine at the moment.

When switching to digital you have three options; one, you buy a set top box, two, you buy a digital recorder or three, you buy a new television with a digital tuner built in. If you fail to do any of these things you wont be able to watch television once they switch over. The government suggests that “…it’s important that you plan ahead and, if necessary, budget for the change to digital.” I’m sure people have more important things to spend their money on when they already have a perfectly fine television.

Most people are using this as an opportunity to buy a new flat-screen television, last year alone more than 2.5 million people brought new televisions. What are they doing with their old ones? In 2007–08, 16.8 million televisions and computers were thrown out and 84% of these where sent to landfill. This statistic was taken before the decision to switch off analog television was made. The government had predicted that without a recycling system put in place the number of televisions being dumped could rise to 44 million at the end of 2028. The government are doing very little maybe they should have taken their own advice and planned ahead to implement new ways of disposing of old televisions.

Many older televisions have hazardous waste in the screens and other toxic materials like lead and mercury. A new recycling plant in Adelaide has recently opened and is the first of its kind, the plant will process more the 300,000 television and computer screens. The recycled glass will be used all over the world and largely for new screens. There should be more plants like this.