You've chosen and activated a brand-new, top-of-the-line smartphone. But what happens to your old model that barely functions any longer?
It turns out that old cell phones, as well as components like chargers and SIM cards, can be a valuable source of metals like copper, gold and silver. Many old smartphones are reused or resold, and the rest that won't function are broken down into components. But it can be difficult to efficiently harvest these materials for recycling.
How Much Can be Salvaged?
The U.S. Geological Survey examined the average amount of metals that can be recycled from older cell phones, circa 2006. According to their research, there are 16 grams of copper in an average older phone, as well as 0.35 grams of silver and 0.034 grams of gold.
If you are recycling copper, for example, that means you'd need a little more than 28 phones to make 1 pound of copper -- and that 1 pound sells for around $2.25. Each phone, then, would provide a bit more than 8 cents' worth of copper.
And while it's true that gold can bring in considerably more, you'd have to recycle thousands -- around 13,341 -- phones to create a pound of gold. That would prove slightly more valuable, at a little over $400 a pound for 9-carat gold.
Efficient methods of separating out this electronic waste is crucial to being able to completely recycle these materials in a cost-effective way.
How are Metals Separated Out From Other Electronic Waste?
In order to make recycling copper and other metals from old cell phones a worthwhile endeavor, thousands of units need to be processed at a time. There are a couple of main methods in use:
- Heat. Old technological devices are incinerated in a way that allows the metals to be filtered out depending on their density. However, this process can create harmful fumes from heating the plastics and printed circuit boards, so it must be done carefully.
- Shredding. The electronic waste is broken up into small pieces and then a magnet or Eddy current pulls out the metals.
In addition, some technologies that involve vibrating the metals to separate them, using biological organisms that separate metal from the plastic waste and treating waste with a heated and concentrated copper bath to pull out metals, are being tested and refined for more efficient recycling.
Money isn't the only reason for recycling used phones. The metals and other components in the units can break down in landfills and leach into the soil, so recycling and properly disposing of remaining waste is important for the environment. For more information about metal recycling, contact Sackin Metals or a similar company.
Share