The wide world of recycling

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The head of a prominent waste-reduction organization in the U.K. recommends that processors of e-scrap end a common practice, and in Malaysia two companies have rolled out a project meant to encourage students to recycle.

Speaking at a sustainability conference last week, Liz Goodwin, the CEO of the U.K.'s Waste & Resources Action Programme, told her audience that businesses need to "future-proof" themselves by finding innovative ways to secure raw materials and free themselves from fluctuating commodity prices. And part of accomplishing this, she said, involves not shredding e-scrap.

Pointing out that electronics are made from rare or difficult-to-extract metals, her speech highlighted how processors of waste electrical and electronic equipment would be well advised to take pains to better recover these coveted materials, specifically through not using the often inexpensive option of shredding unwanted devices and appliances. She told attendees this:

"Currently, most of our WEEE recycling is generally by shredding. But while this method enables capture of bulk metal and plastics, it doesn't work for some of the raw materials that could be recovered. This method usually means that the small amounts rare earths and other valuable elements such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium found in individual items are dispersed during the shredding, lost to landfill or incineration, or the value is lost to the UK as the material is exported."

Recognizing that processing WEEE can be a high-cost low-return venture, she said that her organization would be publishing research on the business case for upgrading existing infrastructure to process these materials.

The business affiliates of Nestle and Tetra Pak operating in Malaysia have rolled out reverse vending machines in 20 schools in the Klang Valley that give students an incentive to recycle, reports the New Straits Times. The initiative, which will reach about 43,000 youths, is meant to encourage students to begin recycling early in life.

"We believe that education on environmental sustainability should start at a young age and what better way to nurture this awareness for the environment than in schools," a representative of Nestle told the paper.

As part of the initiative, students will earn rewards points, which are tracked on swipe cards that can be redeemed for gifts.

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