Sorting electronics PCBs while responsibly recycling e-waste.
Gold, copper, and other precious materials can be recovered from electronic components.
A pile of discarded cell phones - trash having hidden value.
Recycling the components from obsolete electronics prevents
heavy metals from contaminating the environment.
44 pounds of electronic waste are generated
each year for every person on Earth.
Most e-waste generated in the U.S. is surreptitiously shipped to unsuspecting countries or landfilled in the U.S.
Photo: George Hoteling
Mountains of e-waste smuggled into and dumped in Ghana.
E-waste in landfills is a ticking environmental time bomb. In 2022,
e-waste in a landfill in Dundas, Minnesota caught fire and burned uncontrollably
Exported e-waste crosses borders through bribes to corrupt officials,
and is dumped in impoverished areas of the least developed countries.
Poor locals try to scrape a living from harvesting precious metals
from the toxic e-waste at great cost to their health.
According to one UN doctor, few children living in these conditions
will survive to the age of 20.
Responsibly recycling e-waste prevents environmental catastrophe, saves and improves lives, and can be profitable as precious metals are recovered.
RoboCyclers collects and recycles e-waste, provides education, and advocates for change.
A RoboCyclers e-waste collection drive.
