Full Container Load After E-Waste Recycling Day
This past Saturday’s eWaste Recycling Day attracted 203 vehicles, both cars and bikes. In total, one full 20’ shipping container load plus one truck load of old, worn out electronics were collected for recycling.
A spokesperson said, “In 2012 Waste Management exported 15 20’ shipping container loads of eWaste materials to the US recyclables market.
“All recyclable materials, including e-Waste are sent to United States Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] approved recycling facilities to ensure they are handled with maximal concern for the environment and worker safety.
“e-Waste Recycling Day events allow members of the public to do their part for the environment by participating in Bermuda’s recycling initiatives.
“Items accepted at this event include anything smaller than a major appliance that requires a power cord or batteries in order to work: hairdryers, toasters, phones, microwaves, children’s toys, flashlights and of course computer and stereo equipment.”
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Category: All, Environment
Great news, or is it…..what do we get from a container of broken down electronics, NET.
That means after all the shipping and transport has been paid, then deduct the overtime from the W&E people who were working at the weekend. Seems to me the recycling facility operates at a huge loss every year
I disagree with Y-Gurl, who seems to lack some information.
E-waste is a valued resource. Computer motherboards and processors and other electronics contain gold, silver and copper. While one computer might not yield a lot, as soon as you get a good number together it is worth real money. A metric ton of copper sales for over $ 7000 which translates to over $3 per pound. Think of all the wires alone that get dumped every week. In other countries scrap metal dealers drive around and collect wires to make a living. In the US and Europe thieves steel water pipes and air conditioner coils from buildings, even train electric over head power lines to sell them (and cause mayor economic damage because the owners have to replace the missing parts with new ones). Aluminum is about $ 1700, even steel will yield over $ 230 per ton. Thus every car (about a ton of steel, plus copper and aluminum) we bury at the airport could be compressed into a cube worth about $230 and 24 fit into a container = $ 5520 minus $ 1000 for transport and $1000 labor = $ 3520 profit per shipped container.mechanically
There are special recycling facilities specialized in separating scrap metal and electronic waste chemically. Check this website: http://therefiningcompany.com/How-Much-Gold-Is-In-A-PC.aspx. They pay for a pound of motherboard $8, for a pound of processors between $8 and 90 (!) depending on the processor, and for a pound of Ram $ 8, a pound of PCI cards $3.20. A metric ton contains about 2200 pounds. The biggest problem is that these precious parts are still in the housing which is bulky. In Germany there are work shops for special needs persons who dismantle the boards and processors. The profit is used to finance the housing and medical costs of the people, who at the same time are doing useful and for the environment and economy important jobs. Maybe Windreach or MAWI should consider running a recycling facility for e-waste year round.
However, if not recycled and buried we poison our environment. E-waste (including the e-waste in dumped cars) contain in addition to precious metals lead, mercury, cadmium and other toxic heavy metals (same is true for batteries). When thrown on the airport landfill they will seep over the years into our water. When burned at Tynes Bay especially mercury fumes will poison the air (they can lead to severe sickness and even death), the ashes is contaminated with metal compounds that are poisonous, and as metal oxides (after burning them you get oxides) seep even faster into the ground and finally the waters around the landfill where the ashes is mixed with cement they are even more damaging if thrown into household trash.. I would not eat a fish from Castle Habour if it was given to me for free.
I have seen in other places recycling places where they had several containers for different resources year round. Why isn’t one of the containers at Tynes Bay just for electronics that get shipped away all year around (that way we would not have over hours either)?
Sounds like a W&E rant, I think Y-Gurls question was how much does the govt make on a container, I certainly don’t remember seeing it as a revenue line in the govt accounts.