8 Oct
2005
8 Oct
'05
5:42 p.m.
It's funny that a lot of so-called
"green" electronics recycling
centers get very quiet when you ask them where they send their PCB's
for processing. It's not uncommon for rural communites in China to
extract components from PCB's by an unprotected low-wage worker
heating the boards in the open over a charcoal fire. After the
components have been separated, the bare boards are simply taken to
the town dump.
This is not really the case anymore - the Chinese have really cleaned up
their act, not so much for environmental reasons, but because they can
make more money due to better yields.
The unprotected low-wage workers are still mostly unprotected, but they
are very willing. They tend to be young men, as it is a common way for
them to make their dowry money. Most are now employed taking apart
assemblies piece by piece (they will, for example, unwind motors and
transformers), with the nasty refining being done using modern machines.
Reminds me of Taiwan not so very long ago. Used wire
was sent there
for copper relcamation. The method of removing the insulation
(usually PVC) was burning in the open air.
Very wrong. Just about everyone these days, including the Chinese, use
shredders with a water float tank to skim off the insulation. It is very
cheap and the metal recovery approaches 100 percent. The burning method,
used 20 or 30 years ago, wastes a huge amount of the metal to oxidation.
Be careful what you read these days - there is a lot of untruths about the
recycling industry overseas, with most of the views based on what was
happening 20 years ago.
William Donzelli
aw288 at osfn.org