First of all, the inside of electronics has gold in there. Well some other precious metals too but who doesn’t love a new tech gadget? And with that gadget, a new cord. Plus a new charger, new ear buds, maybe even a new case plus other accessories.

So, what happens to the old stuff?

Therefore that’s called a lot stuff worth of valuable material. All as a result becoming e-waste. More noteworthy, becoming a major global issue.

As I’ve written before, recycling electronics is essential. So read quickly. That’s because this message will self-destruct in five seconds. No seriously.

So let’s talk about recycling electronics being essential! So Researchers at the University of Illinois are developing newer electronics. Only components that can destroy themselves when heated. They’ve also created a radio-controlled trigger to remotely start the reaction.

It also sounds like a high-tech spy device right out of Mission Impossible. However the idea behind the research is to put a dent in the global effort. As well to make recycling electronics essential from our waste stream.

The team argues that making components that can be quickly degraded is essential. Then this will let manufacturers recycle electronics. Therefore making it become essential to their business. All because materials from used equipment have gold. That’s as well as many other precious metals. Therefore then they place the tech into new devices.

The E-Waste Abyss

Most importantly, roughly $55 billion worth of valuable materials. Yes folks, all thrown to the trash. Yes folks as a result of our old electronics and annually. In the U.S. alone more importantly. Totals running up to 9.4 million tons of old electronics. Yes and again thrown away annually. Consequently however, only 12.5% of that gets recycled.

Therefore we are creating a massive growing problem with electronic waste. So much of a problem. Just so darn much and nobody is trying to recover it and resell those metals.

What is e-waste?

First of all, E-waste equals the global accumulation. Yes again of discarded electrical and electronic devices. So that’s computers, TV’s, tablets and mobile phones.

As well, E-waste ranges from devices that broke and unusable. Then to those simply unwanted and obsolete. Any device could be destined to reuse, resale or salvage. Also recycling or disposal is considered e-waste. Yet and most noteworthy, the majority of e-waste is not recycled.

The growing problem

More noteworthy, roughly 41.8 million metric tons of e-waste of the inside of electronics from Americans. All that we ship to developing countries annually. In that waste, $55 billion worth of valuable materials are wasted. For example and like gold, silver, copper and palladium. Yes folks, they aren’t recovered from old electronics each year. It would be so lucrative if e-waste recycling was efficient as automotive recycling.

Where is it going?

Some e-waste sent to certified recycling centers in the U.S. or repurposed and sent to Latin America and Asia. However, most of the e-waste ends up in a hazardous scrapyard. As well as landfills around the world.

In conclusion, the folks at Ryerson have created a visual breakdown of recyclable materials. All the inside of electronics. Those that can be seen below. Finally, the goals is to create a resource. One that could help to educate the people about e-waste. Furthermore and most importantly try to put a stop to the river of device debris.