Flat-panel TVs weigh 82% less than bulky predecessors
01 August 2011
A CEA study cites the environmental benefits of smaller, lighter flatscreen TVs and monitors.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has issued a report detailing the dramatic reduction of TV and computer monitor sizes and weights since the advent of flat-panel monitors and TVs.
The report, Materials Footprint Reduction of Televisions and Computer Monitors: 2004-2010, found flat-panel TVs are 82% lighter and 75% smaller than their CRT TV predecessors of a similar screen size. The report also found that modern 40in to 70in flat-panel TVs weigh 34% less than 13in to 36in CRT TVs.
“The staggering reductions in materials in TVs and computer monitors have real and lasting environmental benefits, from the supply chain through to recycling and disposal,” said Walter Alcorn, CEA Vice President of environmental affairs and industry sustainability. “Dramatically lighter and smaller TVs and monitors reduce the amount of resources needed to manufacture the product, and slash the amount of required packaging and fuel used to transport these products. Furthermore, the ‘sunsetting’ of CRT TVs is vastly reducing the amount of electronics to be recycled.”
The study, which was conducted by Pike Research on behalf of CEA, underscores that while there are still millions of CRT displays in use worldwide, manufacturing capacity has plummeted precipitously and will eventually fall to zero. Those CRT TVs and monitors represent the bulk of electronics needed to be recycled in the coming years, and once most of those hefty TVs and monitors reach end-of-life, the overall amount of electronic waste will decline.
The eCycling Leadership Initiative, an industry led effort to recycle one billion pounds of electronics annually by 2016, co-ordinated by CEA, set measurement and transparency as one of its key principles along with bolstering consumer education of eCycling and increasing the number of recycling locations and infrastructure needed to reach the one billion-pound annual target.
Additionally, while consumer ownership of smartphones and tablets is on the rise, CEA’s 13th Annual Household CE Ownership and Market Potential Study, released last May found that the number of discrete CE products per household declined to 24 this year from 25 in 2010, in part because device functions are consolidating. Smartphones and tablets represent a small fraction of the total weight and volume of the electronics waste stream, including old CRT televisions and monitors.
The Materials Footprint report found that while an old 36in CRT TV generated about the same amount of electronics waste as 5,080 cell phones, today’s 70in flat-screen TV generates the equivalent of just 953 cell phones, and a 30in flat-panel computer monitor’s weight is equivalent to 211 mobile phones.
“The report illustrates a measurable, positive environmental impact new technologies have made in reducing the materials footprint of consumer electronics products,” Alcorn concluded. “We expect the trend of ever-shrinking electronics to continue, whether it’s a 70in TV or a handheld device.”
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