Big screen TVs, computers, DVD players, all the electronic products we can't live without all have what manufacturers call an end of life moment and the question becomes how to dispose of the item or recycle it.

“Once the product has reached the end of life we have in the United States a comprehensive recycling program for our customers. We have over four hundred drop off locations where you can drop off your products in all 50 states. We also have a trade in and take back program,” said Craig Herschberg, Toshiba.

They are not the only electronics company to offer this recycling option in fact Toshiba is part of a partnership with Sharp and Panasonic.

“So Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba formed a joint venture company call the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company. What we do is we have our own branded program. We tell our customers if you have a Panasonic product that you want to recycle bring it here and in the background is this other company that operates the infrastructure and the logistics of getting them collected and recycled,” said David Thompson, Panasonic.

The goal is to have one thousand of these recycling drop-off sites in operation in the U.S by 2013. Plus more companies are expected to do the same thing.

“We believe very strongly that the way to go is for more companies to come together into networks so we have more resources to offer more sites and added convenience over time to get customers to recycle products,” said Thompson.

And the problem is only going to get bigger with a growing population and growing demand.

“In 2050 there's expected to be a population increase of 9 billion people at that time with a lot of demand for new energy and social infrastructure so the real challenge for companies is how do you balance growth but do it in such a way to minimize environmental impact?” said Herschberg.