very serious electronic collectors
 

found a whole nest of collectors.
when you throw out your junk electronics, you are really helping people from India.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceindia/page2/

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/34...22dfa.jpg?v=0/

Looks like my apartment... :D

Helping people from India what, exponentially increase the amount of mercury confined within their domiciles?

Them folks ain't doing it for a hobby. :no:

All that toxic crap getting all over the place, they ain't gonna live real long. Heard that parts of China have similar activity going on. And other parts of the 3rd world. Those kids should be in school anyway.

I wonder how well those rebuilt CRTs come out.

It's terrible that there is so much ewaste in these countries. At first, it may appear like a good thing economically, but look at China... their waterways are quickly becoming toxic waste sites. Electronic recycling is good in theory, but IMO we've yet to find the best solutions.

Not to worry...

It is all coming back here in the form of eco-friendly and highly efficient automobiles...:D

just give it time...

I think I know some of their cousins, and sometimes watch them packing the stuff in those big stitched-up bags. Then they put them on containers, and off they go... to end up in places like what you see in those pics. Tons of stuff, container loads every week.

As for pollution, there are places much bigger/worse than that in China: at least one whole village is built upon (almost literally built up on) "e-waste" recycling. It's a cottage industry, with people pulling stuff apart in their homes and outside in work areas, and much of it ends up in huge piles where the sun and rain get to wash lots of toxic metals and chemicals off of the stuff and into the ground, into the water table... Those areas have VERY high rates of cancers and birth defects (for those who aren't too sterile/barren to have kids). Neural damage and low IQs are now endemic in those areas, as are lesser complaints like rheumatism, chronic coughs, etc... Children there don't develop well (smaller, slower to grow, dumber than kids elsewhere of the same age). Mortality rates are significantly higher. Really nasty stuff. The government has tried to take some steps to improve things, but people need to make money to eat, and the waste has to go somewhere.... despite some minor improvements, there isn't a quick, easy solution in site.

Sadly, when you look at the increasing levels of exotic and toxic chemicals in modern flat-screen devices, the problem will probably only get worse in years to come.

I know a guy who has a very small apartment filled up much worse than that. He has it stacked literally floor to ceiling, all with Ham Radio gear and vintage radio magazines. Very good person, and is highly intelligent. And the weird part is that he is capable of buying a good sized house for all cash, and having a big garage to keep all that stuff in. But he won't...

I used to have over 300 TV sets, but I never cluttered the house. 1 TV in each room is enough. The rest in storage, and I rotated. I sold most of my collection to Dr. Dan in the early 90s, so now I have a very manageable 20-x piece TV collection. But I'm not totally innocent... I also have a half dozen enormous air raid sirens from the Cold War, and a half dozen Diesel Toyotas. So I am a collector in the worst way...Just not in the house.

Charles