With the holiday shopping season now upon us millions of new electronics, including digital, plasma and LCD TVs, will be sold over the next few weeks, but often little attention is paid to where the old electronics end up.

According to figures from the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly 88 percent of the 2.63 million tons of e-waste generated in the US ends up in landfills or incinerators, where dangerous toxins can leach into groundwater or get released into the air – the other 12% of e-waste is recycled.

In the EU and Japan, electronics manufacturers are now required by law to take back waste electronics, but as there is no equivalent law in the US the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETC) has launched a "Take Back My TV Campaign’, to keep old TV’s off the landfill.

As well as providing information on where consumers can take their old TVs for recycling, the campaign is aiming to sign up manufacturers to a recycling pledge – the first company to do so is Sony. The company has already committed to not only take back old televisions, but also to make sure their recyclers meet a strict set of recycling standards, including not exporting the toxic waste to developing countries.

"Discarded TVs, computers, monitors, and other consumer electronics are the fastest growing portion of our waste stream," said Barbara Kyle, National Coordinator of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition. "We commend Sony for being part of the solution to this increasing public health problem. And we'd like to see the other TV companies do their part to solve this e-waste crisis."

This issue is becoming increasingly crucial in light of the impending FCC-mandated switch to digital of TV signal, scheduled for February 2009. As the date approaches, the demand for digital televisions will only increase-as will the need for a responsible, efficient way to manage the disposal of obsolete analog TV sets. The Consumer Electronics Association expects at least 30 million digital televisions to be sold in the US in 2007 alone.

More information is available at: http://www.takebackmytv.com/ which features maps of existing e-waste drop-off sites.