Mountains of Dangerous Leaded CRT Glass or eWaste, litter our Auckland Streets
Where is the Green Policy here? While driving through St Andrews Street one day, I found mountains of eWaste, discarded onto the streets, I felt like this could have been a screen for Slumdog 2.
On this one photo, there is eighteen Broken CRT Monitor / TV picture tubes. Lying carelessly in the street, naked, dangerous, ready to cause injury, for pensioner or child. Ready to be swept away in to the magic place, that we never see or care about, but sorry to say, its probably called landfill. The broken CRT Glass picture tubes, filled with toxins will be crushed into the landfill.
Then as the rains come, seepage and leakage if activated, with over a Kilogram of Lead in every glass, these heavy metal toxicities into the landfill, leak into our waterways and vegetation and start to produce a slow passage to human insanity.
Well lets not get to caught up with that, by the mere fact our modern, proud, contemporary and green society indulges in this archaic practise, suggests possibly we’re already there. Where are we? Totally gone mad.
We’ve been promoting to council for many years, CRT types of Monitors, and Television, shouldn’t be put on the Curb-side Collection, that this can be done both Environmentally and Free. But as the big ol’ possum stares into the oncoming twin head lights, with those big transfix gazing eyes, their only thought being, ‘What The !?’. So do the officials gaze with empty words, while trying everything to cover up the shame.
Yes is a sham and a shame, see this is what happens, and has been happening for the last 20 years. On every CRT monitor or TV, there is two to three components full of the Poor Mans Gold, that is copper. It’s becoming the addiction to many a lowlight. That lite sheen glow, sparks a compulsive appetite that these skilled night merchants can tare and suck out its treasure in a twinkling of the eye.
They hunt through the merchandize you trustfully left at your gate, and though there is many types of collects, to prowl the mountains of Curb Waste, these copper feeders they’ll smash up the all the CRT Monitors and TV’s. Smashing glass all over the streets, leaving open exposed jagged glass shards all aimed as potential deadly javelins to un-expecting children, paper delivery children, pensioners or pets.
Every Glass Tube weighs about 6 kilogram on a 14” size and up and over 20 Kilograms on the large 36” type and could have between 1 and 4 Kilograms of Lead. Lead is classified as a Heavy Metal that in different forms within the environment can cause terrible problems. The most common in lead poisoning from car fumes, but from picture tubes it is the solid lead, when returned to landfill, that is a hazard. The American EPA [Environment Protection Agency], banned CRT glass, from going back into Landfill decades ago.
While taking this photo shoot at St Andrews Rd, there would have been over 30 exposed Tubes, with in two property boundaries. What happens to Every Glass Tube, picked up in the Inorganic? I am not certain; it is some phone calls I need to make. I have heard through some colleagues that some councils have start to collect and stop placing into landfill.
To be continued….
