A facility in Indianapolis is using a unique machine to recycle rare earth materials from old phones, computers, and other devices.
The waste center, Recycle Force, was pleased to introduce this solution to our electronics problem. WRTV reported that the company's president, Gregg Keesling, said that a lot of what we buy ends up thrown away, so it wanted to find a way to "remake" it into something useful.
Recycle Force can use this machine to transform e-waste into usable materials, like steel and aluminum, and then break down the circuit boards and hard drives to access silver, gold, and rare earth materials, per WRTV.
For reference, "rare earth materials" are a crucial part of electronics manufacturing, from mobile devices to hybrid cars and TVs, per the American Geosciences Institute. The organization stated that there are 17 of them: 15 elements on the periodic table, scandium, and yttrium.
To use this machine, Recycle Force must shred the e-waste and stick it into its large tumbler with a liquid solution, explained WRTV. It can then separate the rare materials from the mixture and send them off to be sold.
Recycling e-waste is complex, especially when trying to save the materials for reuse in a new item. However, it offers numerous advantages to human health and the planet.
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The Environmental Protection Agency explained that recycling electronics helps conserve natural resources, which reduces health-harming air and water pollution and saves energy.
It can also benefit the economy. The Arizona Technology Council highlighted that e-waste facilities create more jobs and help avoid the costs of mining raw materials.
The team building the machine had been working on the technology for almost nine years, reported WRTV. As for why Indianapolis is the place to test it, Keesling told WRTV: "We're in the Silicon Valley of logistics. We're in the Crossroads of America, and that's why we're located in a great place to do this work."
In the long run, Recycle Force aims to market this process to electronic chip manufacturers, according to WRTV. Until then, it will focus on using this technology as a "game changer" for recycling, similar to other industry innovators who use robots to sort or study biocycling.
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