What is e-waste? Learn about the importance of electronic recycling

Concern for the environment and for the waste generated has become an obvious concern. Many are already bringing some solutions to the table in new equipment , which uses sustainable, recycled or biodegradable materials. However, there are still many parts that cannot be easily replaced by others with these characteristics, and given the rate of technology consumption that we have and the planned obsolescence, the recycling of e-waste or electronic waste is a very important factor. to recover all kinds of valuable materials. Do you want to know up close what this process is like? We will tell you step by step…

Index of contents

• What is e-waste?
  • Types of electronic waste
• Why is recycling important?
• step by step recycling process
  • First step: collection
  • Second step: classification
  • Third step: storage
  • Fourth step: manual classification, dismantling and crushing
  • Step Five: Recovery
• Special elements in the recycling process
  • batteries
  • Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT)

You may also like:

• What is planned obsolescence?
• What is the right to repair?

What is e-waste?

The e-waste , also called electronic waste, electronic waste or electronic scrap, is a type of garbage or waste that comes from the technology sector and that must be treated in a special way so that it does not end up in a common landfill and valuable materials can be obtained. of them by recycling.

Types of electronic waste

Among the types of electronic waste or e-waste , we can find many categories, such as:

• Light equipment: they can be from small household appliances, to computer equipment, etc. For example, they can be included here:
  • Vacuum cleaners, microwaves, toasters, ventilation equipment, mixers, kitchen robots, cleaning robots, etc.
  • Razors, hair clippers, wearables, dental irrigators, electric toothbrushes, etc.
  • Radio sets, calculators, electronic toys, measuring instruments, etc.
  • Electric tools.
  • Electronic medical devices.
  • PCs, mobile devices, peripherals or gadgets, televisions, stereos, etc.
• Heavy equipment: we also have larger equipment that is considered electronic waste, such as:
  • Washing machines, dishwashers, clothes dryers, etc.
  • Solar panels, home automation,…
  • Large printing machines, photocopiers, etc.
• Heat Exchange– Lastly, some heat exchange systems may also have very hazardous or recoverable materials, such as:
  • Refrigerators or refrigerators, freezers,
  • Air conditioning systems, heat pumps, …

Why is recycling important?

When electronic waste is not taken to an adequate clean point, a multitude of parts such as batteries, and other dangerous elements can end up contaminating the environment (soil, water, or air), instead of being treated correctly to avoid this impact. And, on the other hand, it also prevents the valuable materials that this electronic waste has from being recycled for reuse.

For example, among the dangerous elements that can be found in technological waste, we find metals such as barium, beryllium, cadmium, mercury, lead, as well as other dangerous elements such as phosphorus, as well as brominated dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, etc

While, on the other hand, in electronic waste you can find many other valuable materials that are usually scarce and expensive, and that can be recovered to be reused in other applications. Among the most outstanding materials recoverable by electronic recycling we have:

• Gold, present in chips.
• Copper, present in PCBs, chips, wiring, etc.
• Aluminum housings, heatsinks, etc.
• Recyclable plastics of casings, supports, etc.
• Screen glass, etc.
• Steel and other metals.

And, considering that there are tens of billions of tons of this waste worldwide, and increasing, the amount that can be recovered is more than remarkable.

step by step recycling process

First step: collection

The first stage of the recycling process is none other than collecting the electronic waste that users have thrown away at collection points, at product points owned by some electronics businesses, or by large manufacturers, etc.

Second step: classification

Afterwards, the ideal is to take this electronic waste to the recycling or classification plant (which are not always in the same place), where it will generally be classified manually or semi-automatically to separate the different equipment in appropriate containers for later treatment.

Third step: storage

The next step or stage of recycling is safe storage to avoid spills or problems with this stored garbage. For example, old televisions or CRT monitors often have toxic heavy metals such as lead, so it is important that they are not stored in any way. It must be said that, if the classification silver is not the same recycling plant, the storage could be done in one place or another, depending on the case.

Fourth step: manual classification, dismantling and crushing

The next stage would be another manual or semi-automated sorting to remove various items from others. For example, remove the batteries from the equipment that integrates them, separate the light bulbs, etc. You can also dismantle some devices that are larger, etc.

Once they are correctly separated, after the initial classification, the next thing is to grind the already classified electronic waste in a finer way. Using special machinery, it is crushed into small pieces that allow a more detailed classification. The resulting pieces are usually no larger than a few centimeters, and will be easier to break apart mechanically.

During mechanical separation, the pieces resulting from the previous process are separated mechanically by machinery. This separation can be of several types :

• Magnetic: it is a type of separation where a giant magnet is used with which ferrous metals such as iron or steel that will remain stuck can be extracted from the conveyor belt. Generally it is not a normal magnet, but an industrial electromagnet. On the other hand, other non-ferrous metals can also be separated using Eddy currents. The material that does not stick to the magnet will be able to continue on its way, such as plastics, etc. While the materials that the magnet has captured will go to a foundry for its melting and use.
• By water: this separation implies the use of water to be able to separate some metals such as plastic, or materials with different densities. The other materials not separated in this process will go to another stage as in the previous point. While those that have been managed to separate, such as plastic, can be sent to be melted down and recycled.

Step Five: Recovery

Once the materials are more or less separated, such as plastic, iron or steel, etc., from other components such as PCBs, chips , etc. Other processes are applied that can be very different depending on the recycling industry, with even proprietary processes to try to recover copper, gold, etc. For example, through the use of amalgams and chemical refinement, etc.

Special elements in the recycling process

There are some elements that need special recycling or treatment processes and that is why they are cataloged at an initial stage to separate them from the rest of the electronic components.

batteries

Once the batteries arrive at the specialized plant for recycling, they go through a process that consists of:

1. They will be classified according to the type, such as lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, lithium, etc.
2. Then the combustible componentsare separated , such as plastic covers, insulation elements, etc. These can be recycled, if possible, or incinerated and capture polluting particles and gases through special filters.
3. The empty metal cellswill be cut into small pieces and heated until the metal liquefies. Any non-metallic materials left behind simply burn off, collecting on top as a substance known as slag that can be scraped off or removed from the surface. It must be said that some metals will settle in the liquid according to their density in layers, and that others such as cadmium vaporize and can be collected by condensing the vapors.
4. The metals recoveredin the liquefy will be separated and smelted to create pure metals in other recycling plants or specialized smelters.

Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT)

Monitor CRT Philips

Cathode ray tubes or CRTs , like old monitors or televisions, also need to be set aside at the main sorting stage and are treated in a special way. This equipment has high amounts of toxins that are very harmful to human health and the environment. They must be specially treated.

The process in this case consists of the following steps:

1. The casing of the monitor or TVis separated from the cathode ray tube. The casing will be processed like any other plastic. While the PCB or internal circuit board can also be processed using the steps described above for conventional electronic waste.
2. CRT tubes are shreddedinto tiny pieces. Glass powder can be separated by various methods to separate it from metals. For example, magnets can be used for iron and steel, while aluminum and copper are picked up through eddy currents.
3. Then the washing processwill come , where the glass fragments that have passed from the previous step are cleaned of toxic materials such as oxides, phosphors, etc., which these screens have impregnated inside. In this way, clean glass can be recycled. The toxins will be processed safely so that they do not create problems.
4. Clean glass will be graded. Not all glass or crystals are the same, which is why this classification is needed. For example, lead-free glass will be separated, leaded glass also to be sent to lead smelters to extract the heavy metal for recycling for products like batteries, X-ray shields, etc.