As CRT technology has been displaced in the market by liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) and plasma displays, recycling CRT glass has become a challenge for the electronics and recycling industries.
Over the coming years, more than two billion pounds, or one million tons, of legacy CRT TVs and monitors are expected to enter the recycling stream, according to industry trade associations. And with demand for old CRT glass to make new CRT glass waning, there is an increased need for new environmentally-sound, economically sustainable uses for this material.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI) have announced a technical “CRT Challenge” to identify financially viable, environmentally-conscious proposals for using recycled cathode ray tube (CRT) glass.
For many years, CRTs were the technology of choice in the display industry, used in everything from television and computer screens to diagnostic equipment displays. In recent years, demand for CRTs has dropped drastically as newer LCD, LED, and plasma technologies, which are more compact and use less energy, have become more affordable and widely available. As new CRT displays have been the primary destination for recovered CRT glass, the end-use markets for CRT glass have decreased considerably.
CEA and ISRI will accept submissions for the CRT Challenge. The winning solution will be chosen based on economic and environmental benefits.
