91É«ÇéƬ

Heaps of discarded TVs and PC monitors could soon be as common a sight in
Europe as mountains of CFC-stuffed fridges. Around 300 million screens are
thrown out each year in Europe and the US. But because they contain lead and
cadmium, screens will be banned from landfills from June this year under the
European Union’s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive. To prevent
TV mountains growing, NuLife Glass of Wilmslow in Cheshire plans to melt down
the tubes in a sealed furnace. Heavy molten metal will run out of fissures at
the base of the furnace, but the thicker molten glass will be retained. The
purified glass will then be reused to make bottles, glasses . . . and
paperweights.