The cathode-ray tube (CRT) is, for all intents and purposes, dead. Long the predominant technology for TVs, computer monitors, and more, CRTs have given way to beautiful flat-panel monitors, mostly LCDs.
But while the CRT is dead, it can't be forgotten -- not with somewhere around two billion pounds of obsolete TVs, computer monitors and other hardware that's reaching the end of its product lifecycle. What to do with all of that e-waste -- in particular, the lead-laden glass from old picture tubes -- has become a major headache that promises to only get bigger.
Stumped for answers, industry is turning to the public for help. If you think you have an innovative use for CRT glass, your idea can earn all or part of a $10,000 prize.
The CRT challenge
CRT glass contains lead. Separating the lead from the glass is expensive, and the practice of selling it to manufacturers for reuse has all but disappeared as CRT production has dwindled to near zero. The result, one report says, is that more than 850 million pounds of old CRT glass has been stockpiled by recycling companies that can't find cost-effective ways of disposing of it.
Hence the CRT challenge, which is co-sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI).
"The CRT challenge is a crowd-sourced technical competition to find new uses for old CRT glass," says Walter Alcorn, CEA's vice president for environmental affairs and industry sustainability. "The consumer electronics industry is fully committed to e-cycling, and this CRT challenge has the potential to uncover new, innovative electronics recycling."
The issue of what to do with old CRT glass is not exactly new, and this isn't the CEA's first attempt to reach out to the public to find new uses for it. A 2011 CRT challenge drew more than 350 submissions, from which three winners were awarded prizes of between $1,000 and $5,000.
How to participate
Those interested in this year's CRT challenge have until June 30 to get their thinking caps on. Entries can be submitted at Innocentive.com, a crowd-sourcing website dedicated to finding creative solutions to tough problems across a variety of fields.
Crowd sourcing is an increasingly popular way for industries and agencies to find unorthodox solutions to challenging problems. As an example, the Robocall Challenge, a crowd-sourced competition sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission, recently awarded $25,000 each to two individuals who suggested new ways to block telemarketers' calls.
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