How 'E-Waste Mining' Can Pay Off

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As millions of metric tons of electronic waste accumulate globally each year, it's quickly becoming one of the largest waste streams in the world. But what if obsolete or defective devices could be reverted to valuable raw materials? Extraction of raw materials from e-waste, or "e-waste mining," can turn waste into a sustainable resource.

www.eetimes.com/, Oct. 24, 2023 – 

The value of raw materials in global e-waste was approximately $57 billion in 2019. The annual generation of e-waste is tens of millions of tons, and it's increasing by 3% to 5% each year. Only about 17% of global e-waste ends up getting recycled, and in the Americas that number's less than 10%. The rest of the e-waste is either dumped in landfills, burned or traded without restrictions, posing serious environmental, health and national security risks.

Obstacles lie in the need for institutions to establish regulations and infrastructure that would lead to increased recycling and mining of e-waste. Programs that encourage collection of old electronics from consumers and retailers, subsequent processing of devices by e-waste management organizations, and practical legislation are all vital to drive growth of an e-waste mining industry.

Effective end-of-life management of e-waste can be lucrative since electronic devices contain precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper, as well as rare earth elements and other useful materials.

As an example, there are roughly 300 grams of gold in a ton of smartphones. On the other hand, gold ore averages around 5 grams of pure gold/ton. The same is true for other common metals, such as copper. Tapping into manmade secondary ores is critical to not only curb the ever-growing e-waste stream but also reduce demand for new mining–by leveraging profitable alternatives.

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