While the term e-waste has become a buzz word, it should not be mistaken to refer to the concepts of reusing and recycling simply because they all mean different things. In the first place, old or damaged electronics should not be called e-waste if they are properly reused and recycled. In fact, most electronic devices and products can be reused and recycled because there are a lot of scrap metals that can be recovered from them. These include copper, gold, aluminum, silver, and cobalt, all of which can be safely recycled. Cobalt recycling, for instance, has been found to be so valuable.
There is a high demand for both refurbished electronics and recycled cobalt that make a sound economic case for countering the so-called electronic waste or e-waste. Using recycled cobalt and other metals reduce the cost of producing new products and place less pressure on the earth’s natural resources, compared to extracting virgin materials. This is why cobalt recycling is considered as a valuable secondary industry that reduces a lot of wastes from crowding the landfills. The real e-waste is the components of electronic items that can’t be recycled and end up in waste dumpsites that continue to rise.
So, rather than calling them e-waste, the valuable scrap metals found in electronics are better deserving to be called resource. The case of cobalt recycling or reusing that recovers precious metal from the old and damaged product is actually the opposite of e-waste. So, if you think it’s unjust to let those recoverable metals go to wastelands, you can always choose to bring them to our recycling facility. Alnor Industries strongly believes in the power of recycling, especially recovering those precious metals from unused equipment, devices, and any other items. Recycling and reducing waste take a comprehensive, innovative approach. Talk to us to learn more about our process.
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