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When it’s Time to Trash Your Gadgets, Recycle – September 2024

When It's Time to Trash Your Gadgets, Recycle

Do you have old phones, laptops, and chargers laying around, unsure what to do with them? I’ll be honest; there’s a laptop on the shelf behind me as I type this. Whether they are broken beyond repair, made obsolete by new software, or simply the victim of a tempting device upgrade, it’s difficult to know what to do with our old gadgets. That said, most of them can be recycled for use in new electronics, so why did the United Nations report that only 22.3% of the 62 million metric tons of e-waste produced in 2022 was recycled? Unfortunately, the process of recycling e-waste – which consists of any item with a plug or battery – isn’t very efficient or cost effective.(1) 

Currently, most electronics are not recycled at all. Many of us (myself included) aren’t sure what to do with our junk drawer of random cords, and we just throw out the ones we don’t have uses for without thinking twice. I have seen e-waste recycle stations popping up in grocery stores in the past few years, but when most people can’t even remember to bring reusable shopping bags to the store, remembering to bring their old laptop to the grocery store is a long shot. That said, even proper e-waste recycling routes aren’t perfect. Electronics are sent out to a small number of smelters across the globe, and the metals these smelters work to recover (gold, copper, aluminum, and palladium, among others) are collected after the electronics are melted down at high temperatures or leached with acid. Not to mention, they use the leftover plastic parts as smelter fuel, which emits plenty of unsafe chemicals into the atmosphere. Add in the fact that recycling already isn’t a profitable process, and it makes sense that we haven’t made much progress on this front.

Because recycling electronics proves to be so difficult, the metals used in electronics are primarily sourced via mining. These mining expeditions come with ethical concerns, as the process pollutes nearby soil and water and releases enormous amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs), which contribute to climate change, but it’s also worth considering the more immediate dangers posed to nearby communities, including dangerous working conditions for those in the mines and food contamination for those who rely on the lands and waterways for farming.(2) If large-scale e-waste recycling becomes economical in the coming years, the effects of mining can be reduced as it becomes less necessary.

Fortunately for us, a number of start-ups and individual scientists are working to find better and safer ways to recycle electronics.(3) Among the methods used for extraction are electroplating, exposure to bacteria and bacteria proteins, ion exchange, and flash-heating to more than 2,700°C! Most of these groups have similar goals: to open refineries across the globe to limit transport costs and to recover as much of these valuable metals as possible at a low cost (both environmentally and monetarily). Meeting these goals will also make it more likely that the technology industry will use their methods. Unfortunately, there is a lack of regulation regarding e-waste recycling, with most “by mass” requirements being satisfied by plastic components, so there isn’t much incentive for the industry.  

As with most issues regarding waste and recycling, we should prioritize using our electronics for as long as we can and recycle them only when they have no further use. Plenty of tech stores (Apple, Best Buy, etc.) will help you replace a dead battery or repair hardware, which can give your device another few years of service. Once you do need to upgrade, look for recycling programs in your area(4) to ensure that your old devices are disposed of properly.  

KATELYN KELLY

QUALITY ASSURANCE CHEMIST

References

  1. United Nations Institute for Training and Research. The Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 – 2024, “Electronic Waste Rising Five Times Faster than Documented E-Waste Recycling: UN.” Our World, 8 Apr. 2024, ewastemonitor.info/the-global-e-waste-monitor-2024/.
  2. Baskaran, G. Why responsible mining is a human rights imperative https://www.csis.org/analysis/why-responsible-mining-human-rights-imperative (accessed Sep 23, 2024).
  3. Patel, P. Electronic waste is a gold mine waiting to be tapped https://cen.acs.org/environment/recycling/Electronic-waste-gold-mine-waiting/102/i23?sc=240731_news_eng_cennews_cen_Essential (accessed Sep 23, 2024).
  4. US EPA. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and recycling#where (accessed Sep 23, 2024).