Urban Mining
Do you have your old mobile phones in your drawer? Surprisingly, there are tons of e-waste in homes around the world. “Urban mining” may help solve this problem.
We have been rapidly depleting our resources through mining raw materials, over-consumption, and throwing our goods into landfills. Many resources are becoming harder to find and more expensive, and the environmental costs of extraction are growing ever greater. The extraction industries are responsible for around 40 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. Another issue is that mining metals from the ground is an extremely dangerous job. Miners often use their hands to collect raw materials and extract the metals, which comes with longterm health risks.
Now urban mining is overtaking classical mining. It is the process of mining e-waste and then recycling the precious metals thrown away in urban environments. Most e-waste contains copper, silver, and gold, along with a wide range of valuable rare-earth elements. If we can utilize the metals in urban mines, we do not have to depend solely on mining raw materials from the ground.
Mobile phones, for example, are pocket-sized vaults of precious metals and rare-earth elements. There are millions of mobile phones which are no longer being used, and over 95 percent of a mobile phone can be recycled. Urban mining allows unwanted phones to be broken down into parts, with each of the elements being extracted for reuse.
One of the precious metals is gold. It is used in mobile phones and other electronic devices because it is chemically stable and conducts electricity. The concentration of gold in mobile phones is higher than the concentration of gold in the same quantity of ore, and one ton of mobile phones has 300 times more gold than one ton of gold ore.
Cobalt is another precious metal that is in high demand. It is used for lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, computers, and mobile phones. Over 60 percent of the world’s cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it has been strongly linked with child labor and environmental degradation.
Urban mining offers a lot of benefits, ensuring secure and sustainable supply chains. Natural resources are often found in remote regions, whereas urban mining enables us to get access to these resources close to where they are needed. It also helps increase resource independence and reduce transport costs. Furthermore, as recycling rates go up, there will be less strain on natural resources, which helps extend the length of time they can be used.
Now is the time to reassess our relationship with e-waste. Retrieving it is one of the most environmentally friendly actions we can take without having to leave the house.
Do you have your old mobile phones in your drawer? Surprisingly, there are tons of e-waste in homes around the world. “Urban mining” may help solve this problem.
We have been rapidly depleting our resources through mining raw materials, over-consumption, and throwing our goods into landfills. Many resources are becoming harder to find and more expensive, and the environmental costs of extraction are growing ever greater. The extraction industries are responsible for around 40 percent of the world’s carbon emissions. Another issue is that mining metals from the ground is an extremely dangerous job. Miners often use their hands to collect raw materials and extract the metals, which comes with longterm health risks.
Now urban mining is overtaking classical mining. It is the process of mining e-waste and then recycling the precious metals thrown away in urban environments. Most e-waste contains copper, silver, and gold, along with a wide range of valuable rare-earth elements. If we can utilize the metals in urban mines, we do not have to depend solely on mining raw materials from the ground.
Mobile phones, for example, are pocket-sized vaults of precious metals and rare-earth elements. There are millions of mobile phones which are no longer being used, and over 95 percent of a mobile phone can be recycled. Urban mining allows unwanted phones to be broken down into parts, with each of the elements being extracted for reuse.
One of the precious metals is gold. It is used in mobile phones and other electronic devices because it is chemically stable and conducts electricity. The concentration of gold in mobile phones is higher than the concentration of gold in the same quantity of ore, and one ton of mobile phones has 300 times more gold than one ton of gold ore.
Cobalt is another precious metal that is in high demand. It is used for lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, computers, and mobile phones. Over 60 percent of the world’s cobalt supply comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where it has been strongly linked with child labor and environmental degradation.
Urban mining offers a lot of benefits, ensuring secure and sustainable supply chains. Natural resources are often found in remote regions, whereas urban mining enables us to get access to these resources close to where they are needed. It also helps increase resource independence and reduce transport costs. Furthermore, as recycling rates go up, there will be less strain on natural resources, which helps extend the length of time they can be used.
Now is the time to reassess our relationship with e-waste. Retrieving it is one of the most environmentally friendly actions we can take without having to leave the house.