It came as he dropped off cans and bottles to be recycled at the Montgomery County Solid Waste facility on Encrete Lane in Moraine.

“In this day and age we produce a lot of trash and if we can recycle some of it, in the end we’re helping ourselves,” Mostashfi said.

He was pleased to learn the county is well prepared for a coming wave of old TV sets.

John Goodman, Montgomery County Solid Waste District Community Program Specialist, said the sets are coming from people who are preparing for the switch to digital TV.

Broadcasters in the Miami Valley and around the nation are scheduled to turn off their traditional analog broadcast signal Feb. 17, and make the switch to digital broadcasting.

“We are expecting a surge as a lot of people are upgrading their televisions,” Woodman said.

Montgomery County residents can drop off working television sets at the Moraine facility where they will be turned over to local nonprofit agencies for reuse.

Woodman said non-working sets will be taken apart and recycled.

One nationwide estimate put the number of television sets that end up in landfills each year at 20 million.

The number is expected to rise dramatically as consumers deal with the switch to digital broadcasting.

Montgomery County is encouraging residents to recycle their old sets to help preserve landfill space and to keep hazardous contents out of the landfills.

Woodman said people who live outside of Montgomery County should contact their local solid waste authority to learn how they might recycle their old TV sets.

To see a map to the Montgomery County Recycling Center click here.

Here are the Solid Waste Districts in the surrounding area.

Butler County 513-887-3963 Clark County 937-521-2021 Darke County 937-547-7369 Greene County 937-562-5929 Hamilton County 513-946-7705 Miami County 937-440-3488 Preble County 937-456-6880 Warren County 513-695-1209

jim.otte@whiotv.com