In an old cabinet hidden in the back of my closet, not one, not two, but three drawers are filled with old cables and devices. Each generation of USB is represented by each major brand of gadget. I know I won’t use these cables again, but I also know they don’t belong in the trash I have no excuse not to recycle them.
I’m not alone. Globally, 12 percent of small electronics are recycled, according to A moratorium until 2024. The numbers don’t fare much better for larger electronics. That means billions of pounds of equipment, from old iPods to broken TVs, are thrown away. These discarded electronics, commonly known as e-waste, are filled with precious metals that end up in landfills along with hazardous chemicals that can leach into soil and groundwater. Beyond that, there is a veritable treasure trove of critical materials that are lost if these devices are not recycled.
“One thing that I think consumers don’t know, and they should, is that recycling electronics is easier than you think,” said Callie BabbittProfessor of Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology.
“By recycling a product, you are able to offset the energy and materials that it would take to produce a new one,” Babbitt added. “And that means we don’t have to mine as many materials from sometimes vulnerable and environmentally sensitive parts of the world.”
Recycling e-waste is not as simple as recycling aluminum cans. It’s not exactly rocket science either.
Many big-box stores will recycle your old electronics for you, as well A growing list of recycling centers. But this reality will not be resolved The global e-waste crisis. Humans will generate 137 billion pounds of e-waste in 2022, making e-waste One of the fastest growing solid waste streams Finding a place to put all that junk in the world isn’t the only problem. It is extremely energy intensive to mine for the important metals needed to make electronics, so recycling those materials is essential in the fight against climate change. And we can all do our part to combat it.
It may sound like an exaggeration to say that Americans have billions of dollars worth of world-saving materials in their junk drawers. But it doesn’t. It actually is More like $60 billion Price of stuff.
Now that the holiday season is fully upon us, consider giving those materials back to the world If you just bought a new phone, for example, don’t throw the old one in the trash. Definitely don’t put it in the back drawer of your closet. Someone will probably pay good money to take it off your hands.
The surprisingly complex e-waste crisis
The term e-waste might make you think of a box full of old circuit boards, and that’s partially correct. Old circuit boards, wires and screens contain small amounts of valuable material such as copper, gold and silver that can be extracted and reused. However, as microchips have found their way into more and more products, the definition of e-waste has expanded to include everything from lighted children’s toys to toasters.
The world’s e-waste problem is getting bigger, as we’re only making and using more electronics, including products that can’t be repaired or were designed for short life cycles. (Looking at you, Apple AirPods.) That 137 million pounds of e-waste generated by humans in 2022 breaks down to 17 pounds of e-waste. Only 22 percent of this was formally collected and recycled. Compare that More than 50 percent are aluminum cans Those are recycled and it’s easy to see that we have some work to do
Recycling e-waste will make us less dependent on destructive and energy-intensive mining operations around the world. In addition to their significant greenhouse gas emissions, mining for the metals we need to make electronics is also Harms local ecosystems and damages biodiversity.
Many of the key minerals needed for things like smartphones and clean energy tech, including solar panels and EVs, also come from these countries. Records of abusive working conditions in mines. These metals include indium (used in touchscreens), tantalum (for energy-storing capacitors), and germanium (for semiconductors such as microchips), typically Not available in the USRecycled electronics is therefore a key way to build a domestic supply chain for these components.
Nena Shaw, director of the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division of the Environmental Protection Agency, said, “There’s a global effort going on right now — almost a nation, if you want to call it that — for countries to have access to rare earth elements” (EPA). “And so the United States wants to keep what we have.”
We will need even more of those critical materials in the years ahead. Demand for cobalt, which is essential for EV batteries, will A fivefold increase By 2050, according to the International Energy Association. Demand for lithium, also a key battery component, Can increase tenfold By the year 2050.
You probably have lithium in a drawer somewhere, maybe inside an old phone battery. Throwing the phone in the trash is a bad idea, if only because the lithium-ion battery has the unfortunate tendency to catch fire and then Set entire landfills on fire. Recycling is a good idea but only if done correctly.
Handcuffs to recover Approximately $62 billion The cost of claimed materials has created an informal e-waste recycling market with detrimental consequences. This includes the rise of urban mining, where electronics Recycled and refined on the road of low-income countries. This results in toxic fumes harming local workers and residents, and corrosive chemicals being dumped into rivers. United Nations estimates About half The world’s recyclable e-waste goes through informal channels.
So how can you make sure the phone ends up in the right place? The short answer is to go through a big-box retailer, such as Best Buy. The long answer is to find certified e-waste recyclers in your area, which requires a little knowledge of how the industry works.
How to recycle something with a power switch
The world of formal e-waste collection and recycling is growing. After all, recyclables are literally full of gold and other highly valuable minerals. However, e-waste recyclers face two major challenges. One, recycling old electronics is notoriously complicated. Two, there aren’t enough people to recycle old electronics.
Let’s start with the tricky bit. To get reusable parts from an old phone or TV, recyclers have to tear the thing down to its most basic components. That means tearing the plastic shell, tearing the circuit board, etc. Recovering the valuable material from these materials is more difficult, as it usually involves melting the material or bathing it in acid.
This process can work better and lots of people are trying to figure out how. One of them Terence MushoAssociate Professor of Engineering at West Virginia University. Musho led A DARPA-funded project To develop a modular e-waste recycling system.
“The holy grail of e-waste recycling is if you can shred your entire iPhone, run it through some process, and extract selected metals,” Musho told me. “We’re not quite there yet.”
One thing that would help: More people recycling e-waste. Figuring out exactly where to go can be a challenge.
You really need to know how to find a certified e-waste recycler. Just look for one of these two major certification programs out there: R2 And E-Stewards. (Click through those links to find recyclers near you.) Certified R2 and e-Steward recyclers will know how to handle your e-waste in a safe, environmentally friendly way, and they’ll also be mindful of your data security, since you’re a Don’t want a scavenger to discover old hard drives.
You don’t have to look for an e-waste expert to recycle your old gadgets, though. You can actually drop off most old electronics at big-box stores, incl Buy the best And Staple. You can take batteries, fluorescent light bulbs and plastic bags Home Depot. Everything else can be specified good sense Locations that partner with Dell to recycle e-waste. If you’re still at a loss for drop-off sites, Earth911 And Call2Recycle Have handy hyperlocal guides.
There are many ways to get rid of your old electronics and get something back. Big-box retailers, incl Buy the best And the amazonThere are trade-in programs for certain devices, such as the popular Refurbished Electronics Marketplace Back market. There are also smaller sites like this Declutter And Swappa Ones that take old gadgets and give you credit for refurbished ones, like a used bookstore for your old books.
If all else fails, there is bound to be an e-waste recycling event in your city or county at some point. The New York City Department of Sanitation, for example, was a Last month at my local library.
I’m sorry I missed it. After all, those drawers full of cords and old gadgets aren’t going to recycle themselves.
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