PRC Holding "Hard To Recycle" Collection To Help People Get Rid Of Old TVs

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- You're in luck if you're looking to get rid of an old TV, but it's going to cost you some money.

Pennsylvania is supposed to have a free TV recycling program where manufacturers pay the state and the state pays recyclers, but that's not really working.

So getting rid of an old TV is difficult.

Donating them is nearly impossible, and you can't just put it out for trash day. It's illegal to put them in landfills because of the lead in them.

Unfortunately, some people have resorted to dumping TVs illegally over hillsides, despite the risk of a fine.

Justin Stockdale, from the Pennsylvania Resources Council, says it wasn't supposed to be this way.

Under a law passed a few years ago, TV manufacturers are supposed to pay for recycling TVs, but "the manufacturers have frankly found ways to avoid paying those costs," said Stockdale.

The good news is the PRC has scheduled a "Hard to Recycle" collection this Saturday at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills, May 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The not so good news is that it'll cost you for a TV: "New this summer, we'll be charging for television sets," said Stockdale. "So if you bring us a TV, we're asking consumers to pay that cost of recycling which is about $25 per unit."

He says even that wouldn't be possible if not for a recent ruling by the DEP that allows recyclers to pass on costs to people dropping them off.

At Saturday's event, computer monitors will be $15. TVs will be $25. Console or Projection TVs will cost $35. For more information on the Hard-To-Recycle event, visit the PRC's website here.

But he hopes the charges will eventually go away.

"PRC is confident that the state law will be amended to correct these issues with it," said Stockdale. "To correct these loopholes so with any luck, as soon as the end of this summer, the manufacturers will back in a position of paying these costs."

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They'll also be accepting tires, Freon appliances and batteries for a charge on Saturday.

However, it'll be free to drop off computer towers, cell phones, CFL bulbs, and microwave ovens.

And if Pittsburgh Mills is out of the way for you, they have another event planned for the Canonsburg area next month.