The pollution problem from discarded CRT monitors

Toxic glass from old televisions and computer monitors could pollute landfills if new uses for them are not found soon, scientists warn. Cathode ray tubes, or CRTs, are made of heavy leaded glass, which is categorized as hazardous waste in Europe and most of America.

Fortunately, demand for old CRTs is high in developing nations such as China and India, where they are recycled to create the raw material for building new TVs. But as demand for flat screen TVs increases, the demand for old CRTs will fall and the toxic screens will end up in landfills.

The key is to find new uses for the old lead glass. Possibilities include using the crushed glass in road fill or concrete, but the real goal is to find a way to extract the hazardous lead.