The State of E-waste 2012
Chris Rodinis
January 2nd, 2013
http://www.isri.org/ISRI/
http://thetyee.ca/News/2012/11/28/Green-Plastic-Asphalt-Roads/
Today, the last day of 2012, is a good time to reflect on the state of E-waste USA. According to ISRI, “3 to 4 million tons” of used electronics were processed this year.
This amount of tonnage is significant considering that it adds a 5 billion dollar plus and 30,000 jobs to the national economy.
Even more significant is when you compare those numbers to 2002 and you find just 1 billion dollars and only 6,000 jobs respectively.
The Road to 22
Looking into the future those numbers in 2022 might be $500 billion and 500,000!
Here is more future business: the e-waste industry is under increased scrutiny by regulators for all recycling companies to be certified as R2 or E-stewards.
Once companies become certified they must pay close attention to the downstream processing of what they collect or risk serious consequences. The Feds and states eventually will only allow certified e-waste recycling companies to be in the industry.
High Demand for Untapped Supplies
Right now 70% of collected e-waste is turned into new products. About 75% of collected material comes from commercial sector. Only 25% originates from consumers.
Closing 2012 with a side note for Wall Street: currently, e-waste recycling companies are heavily invested and are operating at 50% of capacity which means demand is high and supplies are untapped.
Plastic Roads Who Knew?
And you know all that plastic inside our electronic devices? Plastic is one of the major challenges in e-waste recycling so here is a nice plastics recycling story to end 2012.
Nobody owns the road. Everybody owns the road. We all share the road. Governments build and maintain the roads and that gets expensive. As long as governments are spending money they might as well continuously improve infrastructure as sustainably as possible.
One city in Canada, Vancouver, is practicing sustainability with new paving material made from recycled plastic.
“Paving roads with the warm mix asphalt would lower the city’s carbon footprint by 300 tonnes by using less heat, plus the 30 per cent less volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from traditional road-building”
Sounds good right? Not so fast according to some. What if it leaches toxins into the ground? Well the mix is a wax and is oily by nature the same way asphalt is. City planners believe the best way to find out is to try it.
Measurements will be made on a regular basis to make sure the mix is no worse than straight asphalt.
Saved 20% On The Energy Bill
So where does this plastic come from? From our consumables in our kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. After being processed into a wax the slurry cooks at a much lower temperature which means an energy bill savings of 20%.
This also translates to lower carbon emissions for plant operations and logistics.
Turns out this lower the temp recipe originated in Europe in the 90’s, however, Vancouver, is now the newest innovator adding plastic to the wax.
They have three stretches of road where trials are taking place. Since Vancouver has a goal of being the greenest city in the world, this fits right into their plans. And any amount of plastic that can be diverted from the world’s oceans and the world’s landfills is a worthwhile enterprise.
Currently the supplier of the wax is GreenMantra Technologies in Toronto. I have to give to big time props to the founders of GreenMantra for finding another good use for recycled plastic.
GreenMantra asphalt may last longer and may prevent premature aging of asphalt too. And that makes it even easier to reuse. Another plus factor for this plastics innovator.
For more information on plastic or electronic waste recycling contact:
www.EwasteWiz.com