Cell phones, computers and other IT goods, as well as components like circuit
boards, batteries and cathode-ray TV glass, face a mixed fate. Many are dumped,
some are recycled for precious metals, and some are shipped overseas.
In the Hatsune Miku campaign, some
570,000 unwanted cell phones were collected at 1,886 stores over 100 days to the
end of February, according to a government report. The successful campaign included cash
prizes, so participants weren’t merely motivated by conservation or the charms
of Hatsune.
So-called “urban mining” recycling plants can turn trash into treasure. The
government estimates the phones yielded 22 kilograms of gold, 79 kilograms of
silver, two kilograms of palladium and over five tons of copper.
But while appliances such as TVs and air conditioners are subject to disposal
laws, with recycling rates generally high, so-called e-waste -- including cell
phones, computers and other electronic waste -- is another story.
In the year to April 2005, over 7 million PCs were discarded, with some 37
percent disposed or recycled, 37 percent reused within Japan, and 26 percent
exported, according to Japan’s National Institute for Environmental
Joy Scrogum on 03 Nov 097/18/09 article from The Times [of London] on the problem of illegal e-waste trade and unsafe e-waste processing in Ghana. Article contains the following statistics: "Even in the European Union, which has some of the most stringent controls, an estimated 75 per cent of e-waste is unaccounted for. Most of this, an estimated 8.5 million tonnes a year, is believed to be finding its way to unofficial dumps in West Africa."
