Flat-panel displays

New estimates on the time it takes for a flat-panel display TV to enter the U.K. waste stream have been released.

The findings, determined by WRAP, an influential waste reduction and recycling nonprofit group based in the U.K., suggest the average life span of flat-panel display televisions is about 10 years. Life-span estimates are critical in estimating when devices will begin appearing in the recycling stream.

Flat-panel display processor 3S International has closed its operations in Illinois and Michigan and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with hopes of reorganizing the company.

In a statement sent to E-Scrap News, CEO Joe Yob said bankruptcy will "allow 3S to strategically reposition the company to better meet the current and future needs for the recycling of panel displays and other mercury-containing electronics."

As the industry continues to grapple with collecting and recycling lead-heavy CRT televisions, a facility in the U.K. has become the first of its kind to mechanically recycle the successor to the CRT, flat panel televisions.

The U.K.'s Environment Agency has given Electrical Waste Recycling Group (EWRG) the green light to begin accepting LCD flat panel display (FPD) televisions for recycling at the company's 100,000-square-foot Huddersfield facility.