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So little of your e-waste is really recycled


There are six kilograms of e-waste per capita on our planet

The mountain of electronic waste in Germany and worldwide is growing every year. The worldwide use of electronic devices is becoming more and more widespread – this is an enormous problem for the environment.

1.7 million tons of e-waste – that's how much we produce per year in Germany alone. A huge number, but one that does not yet fully reflect the problem, because e-waste is not just waste. Components in smartphones and other electrical appliances are not only valuable, but often also toxic. Although e-waste accounts for only two percent of waste streams, it accounts for 70 percent of hazardous waste components that end up in landfills. However, precise separation of the individual components in order to recycle usable elements is time-consuming and not always worthwhile.

150 times as heavy as Cologne Cathedral

The international figures are all the more dramatic. Worldwide, about 45 million tons of electronic waste are generated every year (as of 2016). That is just under six kilograms per capita, when looking at all people on earth. Placed in a pile, this mountain of garbage would weigh 150 times as much as Cologne Cathedral. Half of this is concentrated in Europe and the USA.

According to estimates, this number will rise sharply in the future. This is because, for example, many electrical appliances are not designed for long use. For example, smartphone batteries can usually no longer be replaced, and the customer should instead regularly buy a new device. According to forecasts by the United Nations University and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this development could lead to the production and use of laptops, smartphones and the like accounting for one seventh of global pollutant emissions in 20 years. Another ten years later, 120 million tons of e-waste are expected to be generated.

E-cars could lead to more scrap

An immense share of the increase in electronic waste could be due to the increasing global demand for e-cars. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), up to 125 million electric vehicles could be on the road by 2030, 40 times more than today. Currently, the global recycling rate for this market is only 42%.

After all, the EU and the People's Republic of China have introduced laws that make car manufacturers responsible for recycling batteries.

Artikel Abschnitt: Was ist eigentlich Elektroschrott?

What is e-waste?

Launched in 2004, the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development defines e-waste as anything that has a plug or battery, from printers and desk lamps to smartphones, refrigerators, computers, televisions and projectors that have reached the end of their "lifespan" and their components. Currently, only a few countries have a uniform method of recording this waste. E-waste comes from various sources, from private households and industry.

Once the partnership has been determined, there are six categories of e-waste:

  • Refrigerators and freezers (e.g. refrigerators, air conditioners, etc.)
  • Screens (e.g. TVs, laptops, tablets, etc.)
  • Luminaires/lamps (e.g. light bulbs, LED lamps, etc.)
  • Large equipment (e.g. washing machines, dryers, etc.)
  • Small appliances (e.g. microwaves, toasters, etc.)
  • Small IT and communication devices (e.g. smartphones, GPS devices, calculators, routers, etc.)

Artikel Abschnitt: Was macht Elektro-Schrott so besonders?

What makes e-waste so special?

In addition to plastic parts, electronic waste can also contain valuable precious metals such as gold, copper, nickel and rare materials such as indium or palladium. Smartphones in particular contain expensive components. Today, a ton of smartphones contains far more gold than a ton of gold ore. 1.46 billion smartphones were sold in 2017. Each device contains an average of around 100 US dollars worth of electrical components.

Recycling is often not economically worthwhile

Nevertheless, vast amounts of expensive raw materials are simply thrown away every year in the form of electronic waste. Despite these figures, processing is currently still so costly that recycling is often not economically viable. Modern devices in particular contain increasingly complex components. Often it is not possible to separate them individually, you have to concentrate on certain elements. However, even experts often do not know what elements are in detail in the individual components.

In addition, many people apparently build up such a bond with their devices that they do not go into recycling after use, but remain in the household.

Artikel Abschnitt: Wie effektiv wird Elektroschrott recycelt?

How effectively is e-waste recycled?

In Germany, only 40 percent of electronic waste is recycled (approx. 690 tons). The international recycling rate is even lower at around 30 percent. The reasons for the low recycled content are manifold. The majority of old devices simply end up in storage garages, in drawers or end up in household waste. In Germany, 1.7 kilograms per inhabitant end up in residual waste every year. Large appliances are popular with scrap metal recyclers in this country. After circuit boards or metal bodies have been removed, however, the large rest also goes into incineration.

Extraction very complex

Often, the time-consuming mining of precious metals from the "electric mines" is simply not wanted. At present, the extraction of valuable raw materials is still very energy-intensive and labor-intensive. According to Jason Love, the effort is so high that it is not economically worthwhile to recycle electronic waste. Love is head of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. Nevertheless, Love emphasizes to Quarks how important better recycling would be for the entire EU. This is not only due to the fact that the company's own precious metal projects are very limited in Europe. To make matters worse, the relevant components, or their new extraction from natural sources, would make a major contribution to global warming.

Recycling could become more effective

Soon, however, the recycling process could at least be made much more effective, says Dr. Peter Hense, group leader for recycling technologies at Fraunhofer Umsicht. According to the expert, almost a quarter of the scrap in our region of the world is currently not recycled as shredder residue or dust from exhaust air filtration.

In Central Europe, this residue would be incinerated, and in some cases even landfilled abroad. Recycling of the finest components is thus virtually impossible. He cites gold as a striking example. Only about 30% of the coveted metal is recycled.

New procedure to help

With his research group, Hense has developed a technology that promises to improve this in the future. The iCycle system is intended to make it possible to filter metal more efficiently from e-waste. This is a process in which materials are thermally broken down in an oxygen-free atmosphere. According to Fraunhofer Umsicht, this allows metals and fibers to be gently separated and individual pollutants, such as halogens, to be separated.

The necessary equipment can therefore even be operated energetically by gaseous and liquid substances, which are filtered out of the scrap during the company's own recycling process. In addition, it should also be able to recycle metals that could not be recycled so far, such as tandal or indium. In other regions, however, iCycle should be able to face even greater problems, for example in Agbogbloshie.

Less manual work

The garbage dump in the Ghanaian capital Accra has already been described by some media as the dirtiest place in the world. Under great risks to the environment and health, electronic waste is processed here by hand without protection. The new technology could also be used here to recover particularly fine components of the scrap. Toxic fumes are not produced during the processing process.

Artikel Abschnitt: Und jetzt?

And now?

Recycling makes ecological sense, and according to some estimates, improvements in processes can also ensure that the recycling of e-waste can also be economically viable, so that less mine mining would be necessary.

Increasingly scarce resources on earth are also an argument for processing the valuable components of our waste more effectively. However, as long as monetary interests speak in favour of maintaining the low recycling rates, experts such as Jason Love believe that political intervention is necessary, at local, regional and EU level. As with any recycling, it is therefore necessary to persuade.

Mobile phones as Olympic medals

Symbolically, Japan has now sent a strong signal against the waste of electronic waste. With an appeal from 2017, a large-scale collection of electronic waste began there. Millions of mobile phones have been donated since then. The goal: As the host of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan wanted tomake all Olympic medals from the recycled scrap components of old electrical appliances. The collection has now ended. The result: in the 18,000 collection boxes provided nationwide, more than five million used mobile phones were handed in, among other things. Although the final figures are not yet public, the goals set were almost achieved in the autumn:
28 kg gold, 3,500 kg silver and 2,700 kg bronze: precious metals worth around three million euros could thus be recycled from the donated electrical appliances and melted down into Olympic medals.

A prestige project and an advertisement for a possible e-waste cycle of the future – but there is still an immense effort behind the processes.

Author: Martin Pieck

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