Pulling valuable metals from e-waste makes financial sense

Recyclers have gathered usable parts, including metals, from this waste stream. That makes sense from a sustainability perspective, but it’s been blurred whether it’s coherent from a commercial viewpoint. The researchers found that recovering gold, copper and other metals from e-waste is cheaper than obtaining these metals from mines.

Estimates direct that about 50 million tons of e-waste will be rejected around the world. This type of waste contains a surprising amount of metal. For example, a typical cathode-ray tube TV contains almost a pound of copper and more than half a pound of aluminum, though it only holds about 0.02 ounces of gold. Scientist obtained data from eight recycling companies in China to calculate the cost for extracting such metals from e-waste, a practice known as “urban mining.”

Outlays included the costs for waste collection, labor, energy, material and transportation, as well as capital costs for the recyclers’ equipment and buildings. These expenses are offset by government subsidies and by revenue from selling recovered materials and components. The investigators conclude that with these offsets, it costs 13 times more to obtain these metals from ore than from urban mining. The scientists also draw implications for the economic prospects of urban mining as an alternative to virgin mining of ores, based on the “circular economy,” or recirculation of resources.