RCRA - STORAGE/DISPOSAL > Overview

In the past decade, technological advances in electronic data management and communication have boosted economic growth and improved people's lives in a number of ways. Our growing dependence on electronic products at home and in the workplace, though, has presented us with a new environmental challenge: electronics waste. A recent study by the EPA shows that electronics waste already makes up about one percent of the municipal solid waste stream, and in Europe, electronics waste is growing at three times the rate of other municipal waste. One form of this waste that is commonly present in residential life facilities is cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which contain hazardous material such as lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium. Televisions and CRT monitors contain from five to seven pounds of lead, on average. For this reason, CRTs are regulated by the EPA under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Many states also have their own, sometimes more stringent, regulations.

Proceed through this section of the EVC to learn more about environmental laws, regulations and best management practices pertaining to cathode ray tubes in residential facilities.