Drive along almost any country road in Pennsylvania and you’ll spot old television sets strewn like fallen boulders.

The discarded sets were likely dumped because a 2010 law bars them and other electronic devices from being put into landfills, and options for disposal are harder to find.The state lawmaker who wrote the well-intentioned law, called the Covered Device Recycling Act, is working to amend it.But don’t look for changes any time soon.The current legislative session ends Nov. 30, and a solution is unlikely to happen by then.“There are still a lot of people who don’t know they have to recycle TVs,” says Lisa Schaefer, director of government relations for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.People can no longer kick their old televisions to the curb.Putting them out for trash pickup isn’t an option because haulers will not pick them up, nor will landfills take them.“We’re seeing that in rural areas, they take TVs to the landfill, find out they won’t accept them, and they don’t want to take them back home,” she said.Anyone caught dumping the devices, referred to as e-waste, into a landfill faces a $1,000 fine for the first offense, and $2,000 for subsequent violations.CCAP has adopted a resolution to support changes to the Covered Device Recycling Act.“We’re searching for solutions, but none have coalesced yet,” Schaefer said.The recycling actCrafted by state Rep. Chris Ross, R-Chester, the law, aimed at reducing pollution by mercury, cadmium, and lead that leach from the devices into the water supply, was adopted in 2010 and went into effect on Jan. 24, 2013.The law bars consumers and businesses from disposing of old televisions, computers, monitors and other devices by putting them out for trash haulers to take.Instead, the devicesmust be recycled. Under the law, manufacturers are required to register their brands with the state Department of Environmental Protection, and have a plan to collect, transport and recycle the total weight of the devices it sold during the calendar year two years prior.The law also states that “no manufacturer may charge a fee or cost to a consumer (including home-based businesses) for the collection, transportation or recycling of a covered device, unless a financial incentive (such as a coupon, rebate or other) of equal or greater value is provided to the consumer.”But the law had unintended consequences: Computers and televisions are rapidly being upgraded, and manufacturers can’t keep up with the volume of discarded devices.ConsequencesIn August, Schuylkill County suspended electronics from its annual fall cleanup event in light of the anticipated $187,000 cost — up about $7,000 from last year.“That’s a very consistent experience through the state,” said Schaefer.State reimbursements for e-waste recycling don’t begin to cover the cost to counties.“Funding has not kept pace with the cost of providing the program,” she said.She said York County was forced to close its program for about six months. It’s now back, but officials don’t know for how long.Schuylkill’s Solid Waste and Recycling Coordinator, Joseph Scribbick, said that more than 20 regional recycling sites have closed in the western part of the state, and that Luzerne and Wayne counties have recently dropped their programs.Rethinking the lawState Rep. Chris Ross, author of the Covered Device Recycling Act, is proposing having manufacturers handle a greater share of the costs.“It has become apparent that the market-based system for recycling televisions and computers is failing to meet the needs of the citizens of Pennsylvania. Therefore, in the near future, I am planning to introduce an amendment to the Covered Device Recycling Act of 2010 to provide new options for residents in all counties to recycle this bulky electronic waste in a way that is protective of the environment and doesn’t impose additional costs on state or municipal governments,” he wrote in a Feb. 4 memo to House members.“My legislation would create an opportunity for private contractors to bid on collecting, transporting and recycling the amount of electronic waste in each county that is not currently being accounted for by the existing system. The cost would be apportioned to the manufacturers on the same market share basis currently being used in the existing law. As in the existing law, manufacturers would be able to bid to take care of their obligations.“To address the immediate crisis until this new bidding system begins to operate in 2017, manufacturers would be asked to take an additional share on top of their current obligation for 2016,” Ross wrote.The amendment was referred to the Environmental Resources and Energy committee on May 9.