RARE -- CHAPTER 11 -- DIRTY RECYCLING

CHAPTER 11 – DIRTY RECYCLING

The author devotes this chapter to describe what happens to electronic waste containing precious and rare metals.  When recycling centers receive discarded electronic devices, they either refurbish and resell or donate them if they are still semi-functional or the disassemble them to reclaim any valuable parts or scrap metal.  He then goes on to describe step-by-step two methods used by amateur recyclists or hobbyists who have the time, interest, and resources to devote to reclaiming these metals: one that he calls the scorched earth method and the other one making use of electrolysis.  Both of these methods are labor, energy, and time intensive and generate a huge amount of waste.  Amateur recyclists have to contend with the problem of waste disposal as improper disposal of toxic waste is a felony in the US.  California adds a recycling fee to the cost of electronic devices to pay for the device’s recycling and any clean-up that may need to be done due to environmental hazards posed by these devices that end up in a landfill.  A third destination for electronic waste mentioned about a third of the way in the chapter is shipment to any country that will receive them when shipping becomes cheaper than refurbishing or safely recycling.  Most of them end up in Ghana, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and India.  Compared to the amateur methods by hobbyists, the author refers to recycling practices in the developing world as “post-apocalyptic”.  In addition to precious metal recycling from electronic waste, other metals reclaimed include the copper wire in computers and copper on circuit boards, aluminum from degaussing coils of tube television, and copper from refrigerator condensers.  For these electronic wastelands in these developing countries to form and proliferate, there must be willing recipients.  The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal with over 170 country signatories prevents the transport of hazardous waste from developed countries to less-developed ones.  However, this convention does not disallow transfer if there is a willing country to receive the waste.  This convention was motivated by the mysterious story of the “boat to nowhere”, the Khian Sea which agreed for a fee to transport Philadephia’s incinerator waste ash to the Bahamas which rejected the cargo.  After wandering around in the Carribean, 2 tons of the waste were deceptively transferred to Haiti disguised as fertilizer.  It was never confirmed but suspected that the last 5 tons which disappeared between Singapore and Sri Lanka were dumped in the Indian Ocean.  In countries that agree to accept the electronic waste, it is often the poor who take on the job willingly to earn a few dollars, frequently toiling 12-14 hours a day with very little protection against the physical and chemical hazards.  But the hazards do not stop there.  Burning of the unwanted parts release toxic fumes and leaves toxic ash.  Many of these end up in the waterways or leach into the soil.  In Guiyu Village in China, physiological studies have shown elevated levels of lead in children’s blood leading to a decrease in IQ, increase in urinary tract infections, and a 6-fold rise in miscarriages.  This area once thrived due to its rice production but those fertile lands have now been sullied by hazardous waste from electronic dumping and recycling. As the author pointed out, it will be hard for a village poor enough to willingly accept electronic waste dumps to escape this vicious cycle as only expensive waterways contamination clean-ups and soil remediation among others can restore the once-thriving agricultural livelihood of the people in this village.  Toward the end, the author concedes that there is an upside to this “dirty” industry as metal recycling from electronic waste may be, one day, the only viable way to meet the demand for metals, especially rare and scarce metals, used in consumer electronics.  An example of a high in demand metal is tantalum used in a variety of ways because of its efficiency as capacitors, stability up to temperatures of 300 F, and acoustic properties.  A typical smartphone contains about 40 milligrams of tantalum.  It is also used to improve audio clarity in smartphone headsets and in making armor-piercing projectiles.

·         What happens to electronic goods dropped off at the recycling center:

o   If the equipment is close to functional, they are refurbished then resold or donated.

o   If non-functional, it is disassembled and usable parts are reclaimed.  The rest can then be mined for scrap metal.

·         “Jewelry-grade” precious metals are used in electronic equipment because they stable and do not corrode (stay efficient conductors for a long time) and are good conductors.  Plating HDMI cables with only a 3-15 micrometer layer of gold is enough to make signal transfer more efficient, “making it worthwhile to use gold over cheaper metals with similar behavior like copper or aluminum”.

·         Catalytic converters containing platinum, rhodium, and palladium are also a source of recyclable precious metals, albeit requiring more professional equipment.

·         The author describes two routes for amateur recycling of gold from computer scrap:

·         Electrolysis method:

o   The computer parts are crushed then burned in a metal drum.

o   He adds this almost homogeneous mixture to an aqueous solution of sodium cyanide.

o   The sodium cyanide bonds to the gold particles.

o   An electrical source (line an old car battery) is connected to the container containing the scraps in aqueous sodium cyanide.

o   Under electrolysis, metallic gold precipitates and deposits on one of the electrodes.

o   The gold layer can then be scraped off or dissolved and the electrode can be used again for further electrolysis.

·         Scorched earth method:

o   The electronic scraps are dissolved in aqua regia (a mixture of concentrated hydrochloric and nitric acids).

o   The partially dissolved parts are removed and washed with water.

o   At this point, the aqua regia containing any dissolved gold or platinum goes from clear yellow-red to an opaque green.

o   Sodium metabisulfite powder is added to the aqua regia mixture.

o   The gold particles are now in a muddy brown slurry that is filtered from the aqua regia solution.

o   The brown sandy looking gold is washed with ammonia and water but still remain brown.

o   The brown gold is heated on a hot plate to dry.

o   The dried sands of gold are then wrapped in a cloth, soaked in alcohol, and ignited with a blowtorch.  This burns everything, cloth and alcohol, leaving molten gold that eventually solidifies into a shiny luster of yellow gold.

·         Both of these methods are labor, energy, and time intensive and generate a huge amount of waste.  Amateur recyclists have to contend with the problem of waste disposal as improper disposal of toxic waste is a felony in the US.  California adds a recycling fee to the cost of electronic devices to pay for the device’s recycling and any clean-up that may need to be done due to environmental hazards posed by these devices that end up in a landfill.

·         Compared to these amateur methods by hobbyists, the author refers to recycling practices in the developing as “post-apocalyptic”.

·         In addition to precious metal recycling from electronic devices, other metals reclaimed include the copper wire in computers and copper on circuit boards, aluminum from degaussing coils of tube television, and copper from refrigerator condensers.

·         Many of these electronic waste that end up in countries like Ghana, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, and India are sent there by collecting organization in the developed world because it is “twice as expensive to refurbish or safely recycle the electronic refuse as it is to transport electronic waste designated for recycling to the shores of another country”.

·         Starting in 1989, there have been over 170 country signatories to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.  The goal of this agreement is to prevent the transport of hazardous waste from developed countries less-developed ones.  This convention does not disallow transfer if there is a willing country to receive the waste.

·         A short synopsis of the story of Khian Sea:  the convention mentioned above was motivated by the Khian Sea.  The Khian Sea was a ship contracted by the state of Philadelphia to transport 7 tons of incinerator ash to the Bahamas after it was rejected by New Jersey.  When the Bahaman government refused to accept the cargo, the Khian Sea deceptively transferred 2 tons of it in Haiti disguised as fertilizer after it spent some time in the Carribean trying to figure where to unload the ash (Philadelphia refused to pay them until the cargo has been unloaded).  It was never know but suspected that the last 5 tons which disappeared between Singapore and Sri Lanka was dumped in the Indian Ocean.

·         In countries that agree to accept the electronic waste, it is often the poor who take on the job willingly to earn a few dollars, frequently toiling 12-14 hours a day with very little protection against the physical and chemical hazards.  The steps involve:

o   Heating the metals in clay kilns or stone bowls to melt the lead and tin solder.

o   Once the solder has melted, the parts are pulled apart.

o   CRT monitors are highly valued for about 7 pounds of lead and some copper that can be recovered.

·         Burning of the unwanted parts release toxic fumes and leaves toxic ash.  Many of these end up in the waterways or leach into the soil.

·         In Guiyu Village in China, physiological studies have shown elevated levels of lead in children’s blood leading to a decrease in IQ, increase in urinary tract infections, and a 6-fold rise in miscarriages.  This area once thrived due to its rice production but hazardous waste from electronic dumping and recycling has rendered many areas unfit for agriculture. 

·         An UPSIDE:  The author points out metal recycling from electronic waste may be, one day, the only viable way to meet the demand for metals, especially rare and scarce metals, used in consumer electronics.

·         A typical smartphone contains about 40 milligrams of tantalum.  Tantalum is stable to temperatures up to 300 F and makes efficient capacitors allowing miniaturization of hardware.  Its acoustic properties make it a good filter for unwanted frequencies to improve audio clarity in smartphone headsets.  It is also used in armor-piercing projectiles.