Electronic items can be passed on to family or recycled for the materials they contain.
When you consider the complexity of electronic items, the various materials used in their production cover a wide range of useful substances and even some precious substances. For example, a computer motherboard contains 310 parts per million (ppm) of gold, and even the plastic structure of the motherboard can be recycled. All components of an electronic item contain materials that can possibly be recycled, from the structural plastics and metals, to the circuit boards and screens. Instructions for recycling of electronic items can be obtained from your local waste management provider.
Circuit Boards
Most of the valuable elements in electronic waste are found in the items' circuit boards. Gold is used in electronic items for conductivity and connection purposes. There is even gold in your cellphone. Palladium is also found in circuit boards as a conductor, as is silver and platinum. Copper makes up about 7 percent of a computer and is used in circuit boards and cathode ray tubes.
Plastic Components
The structural components of electronic items tend to be plastic, as it is cheap, easily moldable and light. Plastic makes up 23 percent of a typical computer, and is found in cables as well as housing. Electronic items that are mostly made of plastic are portable audio devices, fax machines and music players, but recyclers can reject these as plastic recycling due to the small amount of contaminants from the circuit board.
Structural Components
Aluminum is found in structural components of electronics, such as the housing, but it can also be found in cathode ray tubes and circuit boards. Aluminum makes up 14 percent of a typical desktop computer. Iron is a basic material of housing cathode ray tubes and circuit boards, and can make up 20 percent of a computer.
Glass Parts
The mineral silica, which makes up glass, can be extracted and recycled from parts of electronics such as cathode ray tubes and screens. Lead is present in certain items (6 percent in a desktop computer) as a means of joining metal together and may be regarded as an unacceptable contaminant.
Batteries
The batteries in electronics can be recycled as they contain useful substances such as zinc and mercury.
Recycling
Depending on the recycling conditions in your area, recycling collection agents may accept electronic items in their entirety to break them down later, depending on new processes and government or state regulations. Some recycling companies extract only the precious metals from items such as cellphones to make a profit, but accept the entire electronic item from the consumer and break it down later.
Tags: circuit boards, cathode tubes, also found, cathode tubes circuit, components electronic, desktop computer, down later