How do you make electronics easier to recycle?
A UN-led group is grappling with the growing crisis of high-tech trash.
from the March 8, 2007 edition
Page 4 of 4
Also in the US, the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative is moving toward developing a framework for national recycling. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency released the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, a voluntary standard for green electronics aimed at encouraging recycle-friendly design.
Four US States – Maine, Maryland, Washington, and California – have laws requiring the collection of certain electronics. Washington State's program is the one to watch, according to Lloyd Hicks, a program director at INFORM, an environmental research organization in New York City. What makes it unique among the four is that manufacturers can choose between recycling their own products or having a central authority do it. "Connecting the manufacturers to the end of life is important," Mr. Hicks says, "You give them the opportunity to try and optimize."
Cellphone recyclables
The average cellphone weighs 113 grams (about 4 ounces). By weight,58 percent of that is plastic and 25 percent metals. Ceramics (16percent) and flame retardants (1 percent) make up the rest. A 2006report by the US Geological Survey estimates that the average cellphonecontains 63 cents' worth of precious metals. Here's the breakdown, at2005 prices:
Material / Weight (g) / Value
Copper / 16.0 / $0.03
Silver / 0.35 / $0.06
Gold / 0.034 / $0.40
Palladium / 0.015 / $0.13
Platinum / 0.00034 / $0.01
(As a point of comparison, a standard paper clip weighs 1 gram.)
The precious metals in the 130 million cellphones retired in the USin 2005 – some 2,152 metric tons' worth – would be worth $82 million.And the precious metals in the estimated 500 million obsoletecellphones that are stockpiled in drawers and attics nationwide wouldyield another $314 million.
Source: "Recycled Cell Phones – a Treasure Trove of Valuable Metals" USGS
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