NewsChannel 5.com - Nashville, Tennessee - Illegal TV Dumping Rising Before Digital Switchover

Illegal TV Dumping Rising Before Digital Switchover

LEBANON, Tenn. - Illegal dumping of unwanted electronics is one of the unintended consequences of the digital transition.  

More and more televisions are ending up on the side of the road.

Most televisions contain hazardous materials harmful to the environment.

Wilson County dispatchers routinely answer calls for help. But lately, some of them have been unusual.

Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ash said his employees are responding to lots of calls of people illegally dumping their old televisions.

He said the closer "we get to the Feb. 17 deadline the more we're going to see."

February 17 is the day television stations such as Newschannel 5 are required to turn off analog signals and go exclusively digital. Old, analog televisions not on cable or satellite won't work unless there connected to a digital converter box.

Angel Engelhardt is probably like a lot of people. She has one analog television sitting in the house without a converter box. She said she's noticed more televisions dumped along the side of the road.

"You can go down the backroads and see them sometimes," she said. "We've seen them. It's like what do you do with them?"

Most analog televisions contain hazardous materials such as lead and mercury so they can harm the environment if they're not disposed of properly. They should be recycled. Bins are present at the county landfill.

Ash has a warning for anyone thinking about dumping a television any place other than the bin at the landfill.

"I catch you at it and you're going to be charged," he said. "That's the message I'm sending. There's a proper way to get rid of these things."

The penalty for illegal dumping is a citation and a fine ranging from $50-$500. Convenience centers in many Middle Tennessee counties accept old appliances such as televisions. They have special dumpsters or bins where you can throw away the television you don't want.