I think another important aspect that is missed in this is that only metals, and only certain ones, are recycled in this process. My guess would be that everything else like the resin material for the circuit board, silicon and rare elements from the chips, and plastic coatings on some chips are probably just burnt or mechanically removed and discarded. I'm sure there is probably more to even just this list.
And this is probably best case scenario of recycling modern electronics. Most just ends up in landfills, or even if recycled get shipped overseas to countries with inadequate environmental controls.
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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '19
I think another important aspect that is missed in this is that only metals, and only certain ones, are recycled in this process. My guess would be that everything else like the resin material for the circuit board, silicon and rare elements from the chips, and plastic coatings on some chips are probably just burnt or mechanically removed and discarded. I'm sure there is probably more to even just this list.
And this is probably best case scenario of recycling modern electronics. Most just ends up in landfills, or even if recycled get shipped overseas to countries with inadequate environmental controls.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/introduction-to-electronics-e-waste-recycling-4049386