Panasonic increases TV recycling as consumers prepare for digital

Panasonic is recycling TVs in Japan 22 hours a day, seven days a week to keep up with a surge in discarded sets before the July 2011 conversion to all-digital broadcasts.  The number of TV sets taken to recycling stations in Japan almost doubled to 10.3 million in the year that ended March 31 from 5.4 million, according to an industry association.  "We have boosted TV recycling capacity by 30%," said Kazuyuki Tomita, President of Panasonic Eco Technology Center.  Panasonic's recycling plant in Hyogo Prefecture recycled about 540,000 CRT TVs during the year, up from about 300,000 a year earlier, he said.