We have a free “e-cycle” day once a month by my house where you can drop that stuff off for free. The County runs it. The OP could probably Google where and when for his area.
I think the caveat here is the “a couple years ago”. CRT monitors are even more obsolete now than they were then. But, as pointed out, a niche market exists for large, quality specimens.
That is just what I do, but not because I want them in working order; I remove the electronics from them and throw away the rest (except for smaller CRTs, like the 5 inch portable B/W TV I picked up last night, also keep the case if it is useable).
Also, a week earlier, I got two TVs, a 19" and a 27", and got rid of them (you can still throw them out here but really big stuff has an extra charge) by cutting the cases apart and breaking up the CRT* (normally, I just put them back where I found them, sans electronics, if I have time, but a neighbor gave them to me; both still worked, as is the case with most CRT TVs/monitors I get).
*Don’t try this yourself unless you know what to do, or this can happen (you need to break the vacuum first).
This. I used an old 32" CRT TV to fix an arcade machine recently, also older games consoles that are composite, RF or SCART only look terrible on LCD TVs. You have to hunt about a bit though. People spent a lot on their TVs in the old days and tended to keep them for years long after they had deteriorated. Good ones can be hard to find.
They’re obsolete as far as buying new ones or finding parts for them, but a fully functional CRT monitor has value beyond its scrap. To a dirt-poor student on a shoestring budget whose existing computer monitor has died, a free (if bulky) CRT monitor is more attractive than a $100 used flatscreen.
A recent issue of Maximum PC said that you can still buy new CRT monitors (and floppy drives), and I assume there will always be people who want them, just as you can still get turntables and tube audio equipment.
Only if desk space isn’t at a premium - which it is for most students. And only if he’s not paying for the electricity himself.
Also, does this CRT have a standard VGA input? In my experience, most large CRTs were intended for workstations, and usually had BNC input.
That’s just a simple matter of getting a VGA to BNC adaptor.
Also, I very much doubt that although a CRT does use more juice than an LCD, it’s going to make an appreciable difference on an electrical bill.
Power consumption of CRTvsLCD | AVS Forum]Someone in this discussion claims a 2006 Toshiba 30" CRT HDTV uses a measured 80 watts.
Anandtech claims a Dell 30" flatscreen monitor typically uses 110 watts.
Santa Clara County has a lot of recycling places for computer monitors - see http://www.recyclestuff.org/search_mat.php#searchstart, put in “computer monitor” and your zip code. Not sure if Santa Clara County Hazardous Waste charges to take e-waste (San Mateo County does), but San Francisco - being a self-proclaimed “green city” - does not.
I thought for sure that a CRT used more energy and the cite below agrees. Old LCDs use 30-50% of the energy of a CRT. The new LED backlit ones use 10-25%.
sell it to the nearest swanky design agency/vfx house/videogame enthusiast.
CRT colour rendition is practically unrivaled and they are pretty sought after if in good nick, their colours don’t have (nearly as much) drift as any LCD and any production house worth their salt with either use CRTs or IPS screen (much much more expensive). They also have miniscule input lag and are relatively simple devices.
That size is about perfect for a MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) cabinet. I’m surprised there is no one in the area that would grab it (I would). Perhaps advertise it as ‘perfect for MAME’?