Texas Campaign for the Environment: News
MEDIA RELEASE: August 7, 2008
Samsung Losing Race to TV Recycling
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, August 7, 2008
CONTACT:
Robin Schneider 512-326-5655 cell 512-299-1640
Jeff Jacoby 214-599-7840 cell 817-729-2546
Samsung Losing Race to TV Recycling
Environmentalists Award TV Recycling Gold Medals to Sony & LG
Austin TX – Texas Campaign for the Environment activists dressed as Olympic athletes set up their own Olympics awards ceremony outside the Samsung semiconductor plant in Austin to give medals to Samsung competitors Sony and LG. Samsung, an Olympics sponsor, did not receive any medals because they have so far failed to offer free nationwide recycling of their TVs and other products. Sony and LG “athletes” took their place at the highest podium for their free national takeback recycling programs, while Samsung’s “athlete” sat despondently on a TV outside of the winners circle.
“We challenge Samsung to ‘go for the gold’ and offer all American free, convenient and responsible recycling of their TVs and other electronics, as Sony and LG already do,” said Robin Schneider, Executive Director of Texas Campaign for the Environment. “Samsung is sponsoring a contest to consumers who find hidden gold medals online but what we’re finding is lead, mercury and cadmium and other metals endangering our health and the environment because electronics products are not being properly recycled. Today we are launching our own E-waste Metal Mania Game where consumers can find out the truth about the toxic metals in their TVs that Samsung should be addressing.”
In Texas, Samsung - and all makers of desktops, laptops and monitors - must have a producer takeback system up and running for those products on September 1st because of a Texas takeback law that passed last year.
“Samsung should include TVs and other products in their computer takeback program in Texas and for all American consumers so that electronic waste is not put in our landfills or shipped overseas to crude scrap yards in developing countries,” said Schneider. “Samsung should show some true Olympic spirit by agreeing to protect the world from the toxic mess their products are creating.”
TVs contain an array of toxic materials. Old style TV tubes contain three to eight pounds of lead, as well as cadmium and phosphor. Flat screen TVs contain mercury, potent climate change gases and other toxins.
For E-waste Metals Mania Game go to:
www.TakeBackMyTV.com/content/metal-mania
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