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Equipment For E-Waste Recycling
Equipment For E-Waste Recycling is a relatively new concept. For years, electronic devices were disassembled by hand, and the parts sorted by hand. However, that has changed greatly. Plants containing equipment for E-Waste recycling sort and process electronic equipment to recover the components possible to reuse and to recycle what is not recoverable.
The first piece of equipment for E-Waste recycling is a hopper, which material is fed into. This hopper travels along a conveyor and drops the material into a mechanical separator. The separator further disassembles the item, and sends various pieces to screening and granulating machines. Further, the entire system of equipment for E-Waste recycling is a closed, contained system, which utilizes a dust collection system to prevent toxic dust leaching into the air.
While purchasing equipment for E-Waste recycling is clearly not for everyone, many businesses and government organizations are creating programs to collect items for recycling or reuse. As an example, the US Post Office has teamed up with Clover Technology Group to create a free national program to collect small electronic products, such as cell phones, digital cameras, printer cartridges, MP3 players, and PDAs. Once the items are collected (Clover pays for the postage to collect the items), they are sorted into those that are reusable as is, those that need refurbishing, and those that need to be destroyed. Sadly, even though Americans discard over 2 million tons of household electronics each year, currently less than 20% get recycled. A major problem with the destruction of these items is that often they contain components that are toxic.
One piece of equipment for E-Waste recycling, which is only used after it has been determined that an item is not salvageable, is a smelter, which strips the item of all plastic parts. Again, the plastic is sent on for further recycling. Precious metals are also extracted for reuse, which (when large enough amounts are accumulated) can have a positive impact on conserving natural resources by reducing environmentally harmful (not to mention costly) mining operations.
Equipment for E-Waste recycling is used to extract steel, plastic, aluminum, copper, and a variety of heavy metals. Much of the plastic can be recycled or used as fuel; however, when the plastic cannot be completely separated it has to be destroyed, usually by incineration or by being dumped in landfills.
While the equipment for E-Waste recycling is not necessarily something everyone is familiar with, the concept of E-Waste recycling is certainly something that is needed to be understood, especially given the massive increase in the use of electronic products by individuals as well as businesses, schools, and scientific facilities.
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