7.8 Billion. That is how many people live on our planet. Every year, about 83 million people are added. The growth of the global population in recent decades, combined with changing consumption patterns, means we are depleting our planet. A highly topical issue is the deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. We are no longer using our planet, but currently abusing it. In the paragraphs below, you can read more about the importance and meaning of Urban Mining.
Traditional production of raw materials
Over the past ten years, the production of iron ore has increased by 180%. During this same period, the production of cobalt—which is primarily used for manufacturing batteries and accumulators in phones, laptops, and electric cars—has risen by 165%, and even coal extraction has increased by 44%. What we often fail to realize is that mining has disastrous consequences for our ecosystem. Just think of deforestation and the toxic substances that severely pollute the soil and water. The Brazilian bauxite mine (bauxite is a mineral that forms an important aluminum ore) on the Rio Trombetas alone destroys no less than three hundred hectares of forest every year.
The cause is hunger! An extreme, insatiable hunger for raw materials. What is the solution? There are various “solutions,” such as recycling IT hardware and electronics, but the most important one is consuming more consciously/less.
Circular economy
The circular economy must also contribute to reducing waste. Reusing electronics is “hot” nowadays. Extending the lifespan of many devices is possible. For instance, a computer can easily last a few years longer with an upgrade. But how do you do this with a vacuum cleaner? This presents a significant challenge for producers. It is therefore encouraging to see that manufacturers are adjusting their business models toward concepts like “design to recycle.” For the manufacturer/producer, it is becoming increasingly vital that the devices they produce can be efficiently, modularly dismantled or made suitable for reuse.
What is Urban Mining?
The city is a mine packed with old and unused electronic devices. Urban Mining aims to reuse the valuable raw materials contained within these old devices.
Nowadays, it is very common to handle many matters digitally via your smartphone or PC. This includes booking a vacation, buying an entrance ticket for a theme park, chatting with friends, watching YouTube, playing a game on your console, and much more.
To do all of this quickly, you constantly need to download the latest applications on your device, and preferably, your device is the latest flagship model that can do just a little bit more than its predecessor. It is therefore not surprising that we all buy a new device every few years. But what happens to our old mobile phone when we purchase the latest, most modern model? Unfortunately, for most people, it ends up sitting at the bottom of a closet.
As a result, electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream today. Less than 5% of mobile phones are recycled, even though more than 90% of their components are recyclable. Mobile phones contain many valuable and rare raw materials that could be used again.
Turning in your old electronic devices for e-waste recycling is therefore the way to go, as it is a waste to throw things away or let them go to waste when they still hold a lot of value. By extracting raw materials from old devices, we don’t have to harvest them from limited natural resources, and by doing so, we do ourselves and our planet a huge favor.
Example of Urban Mining
Urban Mining is playing an increasingly important role when it comes to recovering raw materials from our discarded products. Our cities are full of raw materials. A great contemporary example of Urban Mining is the collection of electrical and electronic equipment. After dismantling, the raw materials can be recovered through a complex technical process. This is not only cheaper but also consumes much less energy and is many times more sustainable than traditional mining. Recycling aluminum takes only 5% of the energy required to produce new aluminum. Furthermore, aluminum can be recycled infinitely without any loss of quality. Additionally, the concentration of valuable metals and minerals in electronic waste is up to 50 times higher than in ores extracted from mines. On top of that, major conflicts are often tied to the control of mines, such as cobalt mining in the Congo.
Holland Recycling is also proud to contribute to the circular economy through the reuse and recycling of electronics. Naturally, all of this is executed under a WEEELABEX license.
Want to know more? We would be happy to tell you all about it. Feel free to contact us.
