E-waste recycling done totally wrong!

[elecplus]

http://ban.org/files/reports/Stone_Cast ... C_Comp.pdf

This one makes me really sad. With a little effort, he could have sold these for a profit, and not had a serious hazardous waste problem.

[fohat]

Maybe I am a little unclear on the concept.

What part of

"re"

and

"cycling"

are these facilities engaged in?

[wheybags]

"The presence of bromine in the plastics and circuit boards as flame retardant material is known to create very significant quantities of extremely hazardous brominated dioxins when burned"

ol irony

[elecplus]

Easy to recycle materials are quickly moved. But anything with a CRT is a problem, for most people. If he had done a little research, he could have sold the whole monitors, or broken them down, and sold the leaded glass, the regular glass, the yolks, the wiring, and the circuit boards separately. Yes, there is a market for ALL of it, and they will pay for the products and the incoming freight. So I really don't see why he did not do more research, and make some money off what was donated to him. Even the plastic housings and bases have a ready market, as do the cables.

[elecplus]

"The presence of bromine in the plastics and circuit boards as flame retardant material is known to create very significant quantities of extremely hazardous brominated dioxins when burned"

ol irony

Original monitors from the 1960s produced significant heat, and the monitor could catch fire. They were intended to be used exclusively in the special air conditioned server rooms.

When the server rooms changed, the monitors changed too, and they added the bromine to cut down on their liability in case one overheated. and to help with the overheating. Fire safety to the consumer is a nightmare for all electronics companies.

It was never intended that the boards or anything else be burned to recover metals or anything else. Effective recycling can and is done responsibly, without producing toxic waste in the process. This is why most exports of ewaste or any electronics over 3 years old are banned in most Asian countries, including China or Korea, unless they have special permits and the equipment to do it properly.

Several US universities are looking into ways to use high pressure in a vacuum setting to separate the layers of the PCB, but this is not yet practical for large scale use.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Which reminds me:

http://www.pacifict.com/Story/