hardware recycling

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Thu, Sep 14, 2006 at 12:07:06PM -0400, Jamon Camisso wrote:
> If we were to be as responsible as we'd like to think we should be/are,
> we'd likely reconsider purchasing new equipment altogether based on the
> environmental impact of manufacturing our shiny new PCBs, never mind
> their disposal. For all the parts that are recycled, those same
> chemicals to which Evan alludes were used in the manufacture of said parts.
> 
> It strikes me that while recycling is an important issue/topic for
> discussion and practice, focusing on recycling is a rather effective way
> to avoid considering just how what it is we recycle gets made in the
> first place.
> 
> I read a few years ago that PCB manufacturing takes an enormous amount
> of raw material to produce a single motherboard (I recall as least a few
> hundred lbs...) I can't find the figures though so I trust no one will
> take my word for it. I'll try searching a little more.

Given the cost of a PCB, I find that to be very unlikely.  There will
certainly be some nasty chemicals involved, but hundreds of pounds, I
don't think so.  I suspect a lot of them can also be reused for many
boards.

--
Len Sorensen
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