We’ve all got them. Computers, mobiel phones, LCD screens and other electronic gadgets. Their great to us while we use them, but what happens to them when they become obsolete? Well, they go into a process
called Urban Mining.
Worker of Ecomicro recycling company, lifts a used computer monitor in Bordeaux, January 22, 2007. Ecomicro claims to be the only company in France which yearly separates some 1500 tonnes of obsolete or unusable computers into separate components for recycling. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
Greenpeace activists set up an art installation made of dismantled computers to send a message on hazardous electronic waste during a protest in front of the office of Indian Ministry of Information Technology in New Delhi August 20, 2007. REUTERS/Vijay Mathur
A worker looks through industrial scrap materials at Dowa Holdings Co's Eco-System Recycling Co, a recycling plant, in Honjo, north of Tokyo March 28, 2008. Thinking of throwing out your old cell phone? Think again. Maybe you should mine it first for gold, silver, copper and a host of other metals embedded in the electronics -- many of which are enjoying near-record prices. It's called urban mining, scavenging through the scrap metal in old electronic products in search of such gems as iridium and gold, and it is a growth industry around the world as metal prices skyrocket. Picture taken March 28, 2008. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
A worker scoops industrial scrap materials, collected from discarded electronic items, at Dowa Holdings Co's Eco-System Recycling Co, a recycling plant, in Honjo, north of Tokyo March 28, 2008. Thinking of throwing out your old cell phone? Think again. Maybe you should mine it first for gold, silver, copper and a host of other metals embedded in the electronics -- many of which are enjoying near-record prices. It's called urban mining, scavenging through the scrap metal in old electronic products in search of such gems as iridium and gold, and it is a growth industry around the world as metal prices skyrocket. Picture taken March 28, 2008. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
Memory chips, collected from discarded electronic items, are pictured at Dowa Holdings Co's Eco-System Recycling Co, a recycling plant, in Honjo, north of Tokyo March 28, 2008. Thinking of throwing out your old cell phone? Think again. Maybe you should mine it first for gold, silver, copper and a host of other metals embedded in the electronics -- many of which are enjoying near-record prices. It's called urban mining, scavenging through the scrap metal in old electronic products in search of such gems as iridium and gold, and it is a growth industry around the world as metal prices skyrocket. Picture taken March 28, 2008. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
Romanian actor Alin Teglas shows a lamp he made from recycled floppy disks in his kitchen, which has been turned into a workshop, inside his flat in Bucharest March 17, 2011. Teglas, 35, said he uses used computer parts to make by hand fashion accessories and lighting devices as a tribute to the computer on which he composes electronic music. REUTERS/Radu Sigheti
An employee arranges discarded computers at a newly opened electronic waste recycling factory in Wuhan, Hubei province March 29, 2011. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), e-waste is the fastest growing commodity in the waste stream, with a growth rate five times that of other parts of the business such as industrial waste. The burgeoning middle classes in fast-growth China and India mean there are more computers and mobiles, adding to e-cycling growth. REUTERS/Stringer
An employee arranges discarded televisions at a newly opened electronic waste recycling factory in Wuhan, Hubei province March 29, 2011. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), e-waste is the fastest growing commodity in the waste stream, with a growth rate five times that of other parts of the business such as industrial waste. The burgeoning middle classes in fast-growth China and India mean there are more computers and mobiles, adding to e-cycling growth. REUTERS/Stringer
Children sort through discarded electronic equipment in search of copper parts to be sold to junk shops for cash inside a slum area in Manila's financial district of Makati City December 24, 2008. REUTERS/John Javellana
Technicians dismantle Xerox machines inside an e-waste recycle factory at Mankhal, 55 km (34 miles) south of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad July 17, 2009. A local environment group estimated in 2007 that India produces 150,000 tonnes of electronic waste each year. REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder
A technician walks inside an e-waste recycle factory at Mankhal, 55 km (34 miles) south of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad July 17, 2009. A local environment group estimated in 2007 that India produces 150,000 tonnes of electronic waste each year. REUTERS/Krishnendu Halder
A worker hammers an obsolete printer at a recycling plant in Buenos Aires June 23, 2008. An estimated more than 35,000 tons of electronic and scrap material from more then 1,000,000 computers, 800,000 printers, 500,000 monitors and other devices were generated in the country during the last two years. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
Obsolete computer monitors are piled up at a recycling plant in Buenos Aires June 23, 2008. An estimated more than 35,000 tons of electronic and scrap material from more then 1,000,000 computers, 800,000 printers, 500,000 monitors and other devices were generated in the country during the last two years.
REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
Obsolete computer monitors are piled up at a recycling plant in Buenos Aires June 23, 2008. An estimated more than 35,000 tons of electronic and scrap material from more then 1,000,000 computers, 800,000 printers, 500,000 monitors and other devices were generated in the country during the last two years.
REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian
Patrick Maranon lifts a used computer monitor at his Ecomicro recycling company in Bordeaux, June 11, 2001. Ecomicro claims to be the only company in France which yearly separates some 1500 tonnes of obsolete or unuseable computers into separate components for recycling.
Computer waste are left along a river bank at Yaocuowei village near Guiyu in China's southern Guangdong province. Electonic waste, according to a recent report by pro-environment groups, contains 1,000 different substances such as lend, cadmium, chromium and mercury, heavy metals which are highly toxic. Residents around the area buy their drinking water from hawkers taken from the foot of a nearby mountain.
Discarded printer cartidges lie in the road at Yaocuowei village near Guiyu in China's southern Guangdong province. For years now, electronic waste from richer economics have found their way into China, where armies of its rural poor are rummaging through central processing units (CPU), printers, mainframes, keyboards, monitors and just about any electronic device to savage what they can sell to recyclers.
Employees take apart discarded computers at one of Taiwan's largest recycling factories in Taoyuan county, northern Taiwan November 24, 2009. According to Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration, the island produced more than 80,000 tons of e-waste in 2008 and about 60,000 tons can be reprocessed into reusable materials. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang
Workers sort batteries at an electronic waste recycling factory in Wuhan, Hubei province December 3, 2009. China's renewable energy strategy through 2050 envisions renewable energy making up one-third of its energy consumption by then, the China Daily said, as the upcoming Copenhagen conference on climate change highlights the world's dependence on fossil fuels. The Chinese characters on the board read Storage area for used Ni-Cd batteries. REUTERS/Stringer
A worker sorts batteries in an electronic waste recycling factory in Wuhan, Hubei province December 3, 2009. China's renewable energy strategy through 2050 envisions renewable energy making up one-third of its energy consumption by then, the China Daily said, as the upcoming Copenhagen conference on climate change highlights the world's dependence on fossil fuels. Picture taken December 3, 2009. REUTERS/Stringer
A worker holds parts of a scrap mobile phone, at a recycling facility of Re-Tem Corp, in Tokyo October 15, 2010. Re-Tem Corp researches and develops the recycling of rare earth metals vital to the production of electronics. Japanese high-tech companies face higher input costs for rare earth metals as dominant supplier China curbs exports. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
A worker holds one of scrap mobile phones, at a recycling facility of Re-Tem Corp, in Tokyo October 15, 2010. Re-Tem Corp researches and develops the recycling of rare earth metals vital to the production of electronics. Japanese high-tech companies face higher input costs for rare earth metals as dominant supplier China curbs exports. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
Parts of a computer are seen at a recycling facility of Re-Tem Corp in Tokyo October 15, 2010. Re-Tem Corp researches and develops the recycling of rare earth metals vital to the production of electronics. Japanese high-tech companies face higher input costs for rare earth metals as dominant supplier China curbs exports. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
A worker disassembles a computer at a recycling facility of Re-Tem Corp in Tokyo October 15, 2010. Re-Tem Corp researches and develops the recycling of rare earth metals vital to the production of electronics. Japanese high-tech companies face higher input costs for rare earth metals as dominant supplier China curbs exports. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
A worker disassembles a computer at a recycling facility of Re-Tem Corp in Tokyo October 15, 2010. Re-Tem Corp researches and develops the recycling of rare earth metals vital to the production of electronics. Japanese high-tech companies face higher input costs for rare earth metals as dominant supplier China curbs exports. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
CPU chips are seen at a recycling facility of Re-Tem Corp in Tokyo October 15, 2010. Re-Tem Corp researches and develops the recycling of rare earth metals vital to the production of electronics. Japanese high-tech companies face higher input costs for rare earth metals as dominant supplier China curbs exports. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
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