Monitors are a problem. And that’s more than just getting rid of them.

Flat glass monitors like from Sony and Gateway still pack a mighty value when working. A 32 inch gateway theatre display can fetch a few hundred. And I’ve seen Sony ones priced in stores in the $200-$500 range. Keep in mind people selling (vs pricing) at those rates dropped $50-$100 to an AV company for a full spectrum test and include the data sheets.

Even more expensive? Earlier RGB large screen monitors. Anything over 20” that passes colour testing is going to fetch real money.

The issue is, as of 2022, 46 states have restrictions on lead glass that go beyond the federal epa regulations.
Meaning you’re likely paying someone with a permit or license to take it from you despite the glass having value on its own. And that absolutely sucks!

So that pallet of 50 random tested working monitors may have 0 or 1 worth actual money. Or 25. Or…! Buying a warehouse of them is tossing a coin.
Find an RGIY monitor and head to the bank! And yes, collectors of brands like some common models enough to pay. Even dead.

The question ultimately is how much trouble are you willing to go through.

I tend to not take them. Not unless I have my eye on something specific. I’ve seen iMacs sold as monitors. E machines. Old 8bit computers. Terminals.
If I know it’s there I’ll bid. But if bid name is public others tend to jump on anything I bid on bulk wise. Making life that much more difficult.

On the karma note though I’ve had people ask me on their wins why I bid. ‘What’s in it’ and what they won.
One person spent $400 on a pallet. Asked what I bid. $50. And why? A 12-key 80x20 calculating display. Worth about $20. Would have made a nice addition to my transitional collection. Oops. Lol.

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Illegal to dump a CRT into a landfill?

I beg to differ.

While I certainly don’t condone it. Local landfills in our area routinely take them. They go into the compactor with all the other household trash. Then, as the load is compacted, loud booms are heard from the various size CRTs. The really big CRTs are quite impressive.

As I’ve read it. When many CRT recycling centers closed down due to the process not being profitable. Many looked at what really happens to the leaded glass in a CRT. They said, and I’m not sure I wholly agree. The glass doesn’t break down, thus lead doesn’t leach in great quantities. As for the phosphorus, they didn’t seem all that concerned.

I feel this was a copout to recycling the CRTs as some localities didn’t want to incur the cost of the recycling.

I’ve lived here for many decades. Drop off my household garbage at the same landfill every weekend. Rarely a weekend that I don’t see at least one CRT TV going into the compactor, then off to the landfill.

Again, not saying I agree with the practice, but I also find it hard to believe it’s illegal to the extent others have been led to believe. If it was, our state would be broke from all the fines paid.

There are some counties in our state that do not allow you to drop a CRT TV into the compactor. But I can certainly vouch for the ones that do.

Sadly, despite our landfill having single stream recycling for your cans, glass, plastic and cardboard. As well as individual dumpsters or drums for recycling of used motor oil, oil filters, paint, ethyl glycol, tires, steel/metals etc. I have watched all manner of household stuff-n-junk go into these compactors over the decades. It makes my head hurt sometimes.

Far too often I watch in disdain as people dump everything into the household waste-only compactor after they just drove by all of the bins and drums I just mentioned. Many people are very lazy, uneducated or just don’t care. Very seldom will a state worker at one of these facilities redirect the errant patron.

Sucks, but true.

I should probably modify that to generally

Most states have banned the landfilling of lead outright. Including tube TVs.
The remaining states direct them to locations where they comply with epa guidelines for lead and other hazardous materials.


I’m with you on debunking the hype. You see my comments on the recycling end all the time here. Lead glass is not going to make the country brain dead. There’s more unprocessed lead, ppm, in much of the north-East’s crop than free in landfills.

Phosphate is a larger concern. Not from a hazard aspect but a supply one. Landfills across Europe and Asia (Singapore most recently) are actually being dug up for materials recovery, and phosphorus is one of the targets for recovery. Low on the list after iron and aluminium but definitely there.
China has been using lead glass as a base material in its artificial island project in the SCS. There has been zero sign of lead issues in the waters or animals of the area.
In fact, the larger concerns now in the SCS is removing glass pellets from food source as they are machine processed. (BBC had a special on the SCS that touched on this earlier this year).

Your cell phone does more damage than a tv.
It’s not World ending. But DO verify local laws. Again, most states have banned the dumping of TVs outright. Those that remain in allowing have inconsistent rules across the state.

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Update 12/19/22.
More fuel for the fire with regard to regulations and pork.
In the great vampire state of New York, a law was just passed by the upper eschelon at the DEC that mandates that no money can be charged by anyone (big box stores, recycling facilities,home clean out guys, etc.) for any type of CRT/flat screen recycling.
The onus of getting paid is now in the hands of these entities trying to cut a deal directly with OEM's, which is what the Recycle and Reuse act was supposed to further along from the start.
This theory makes the consumers happy by making it free.
Sounds good right?
Well, as a Thermidorian reaction to this, just about everyone across the state stopped taking tv's entirely. Whole transfer stations (all of them in my area) stopped taking electronics altogether. Companies that made money by handling the TV and moving it on downstream can no longer legally make money they way they used to.
As of Jan. 1st this goes in effect. You all can expect changes in the way things are done with regard to TV's in your states soon (if they havn't happened already)

I very cautiously State the following, as I do not condone it at all.

But they’re a loop hole in laws for states that ban the tv but not the lead glass in general. Break the glass. If you scrap the tv for the yoke and lighting system and copper, smash the glass. Now it’s not a tv. Just broken glass.

Organisations have been complaining about this since California set up its original landfill ban.


I honestly have trouble understanding how we still have no supply chain in this country for tv recycling. Lead glass is still used in many industries. From commercial windows to automotive to computing. It’s undeniably proven to be of such a minimal risk in proper melt and reform that it makes no sense not to use it.
Instead we have random laws across the country that cause tiny loads to be shipped by road. What a dumb platform.

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