This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
Each year, Americansthrow awaymillions of tons of electronicdevices. That means business is good for a small electronics recycler in Chantilly, Virginia.
Company President Jeremy FaberestablishedPC Recycler. He spoke to us from the floor of his company'sprocessingcenter. Workers were busytaking aparttelevisions, cell phones and computers -- anything electronic.
Jeremy Faber says theflowofdiscardedelectronics is onlyincreasing.
JEREMY FABER: "Electronics recycling is the fastest growing wastestreamin the United States right now.
Recycling electronic waste is not a single job. Newer devices can berebuiltandresold. Breaking down electronics into small parts forrefinerstomeltandpurifyis another part of the business. Operations Manager Andrew Portare says computercircuitboardsare richresources.
ANDREW PORTARE: "Boards have the highestscrapvalue in them so you can actually see on the back you're looking at different types of metals. This one is a really good example. Some of the older ones are mainly all gold.'
Gold now sells for more than one thousand three hundred dollars anounce. Twenty-five percent of PC Recycler's sales come from selling parts to refiners.
Refiningcompanies pay more than ten dollars a kilogram for computer boards. PC Recycler can alsoliftprofitsbyholdingmetal-rich parts untilpricesrise.
ANDREW PORTARE: "Ifcopperis up one day, we canshipall of our copperextractandcapitalizeon the market.'
Computers also hold private or secret information. And securing that data is the fastest growing part of PC Recycler's business.Completelyremovingdata from a computerhard driveis not easy. PC Recycler can remove datamagneticallyor completely destroy and recycle the drives.
Discardingwaste in a way thatmeetsgovernment environmental protection rules is also important. Old TVs cancontainover a kilogram ofleadas well ascadmium-- both highlypoisonous.
PC Recycler supports the Basel Action Network, whichseeksto limit harmful waste and technology. The company says it does not export electronics to China, India or Africa where environmental rules are weak.
Jeremy Faber says PC Recycler has been in business since two thousand three,expandingfrom waste management to other, more technical services.
JEREMY FABER: "There really isn't a lot of industries out there that are like this. There's either the scrap industry where they'reshreddingcars and shredding tires and there's the refurbished PC market and we'resort ofsit right in between both of those.'
PC Recycler Strikes Gold in Old Computer Chips
This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.
Each year, Americansthrow awaymillions of tons of electronicdevices. That means business is good for a small electronics recycler in Chantilly, Virginia.
Company President Jeremy FaberestablishedPC Recycler. He spoke to us from the floor of his company'sprocessingcenter. Workers were busytaking aparttelevisions, cell phones and computers -- anything electronic.
Jeremy Faber says theflowofdiscardedelectronics is onlyincreasing.
JEREMY FABER: "Electronics recycling is the fastest growing wastestreamin the United States right now.
Recycling electronic waste is not a single job. Newer devices can berebuiltandresold. Breaking down electronics into small parts forrefinerstomeltandpurifyis another part of the business. Operations Manager Andrew Portare says computercircuitboardsare richresources.
ANDREW PORTARE: "Boards have the highestscrapvalue in them so you can actually see on the back you're looking at different types of metals. This one is a really good example. Some of the older ones are mainly all gold.'
Gold now sells for more than one thousand three hundred dollars anounce. Twenty-five percent of PC Recycler's sales come from selling parts to refiners.
Refiningcompanies pay more than ten dollars a kilogram for computer boards. PC Recycler can alsoliftprofitsbyholdingmetal-rich parts untilpricesrise.
ANDREW PORTARE: "Ifcopperis up one day, we canshipall of our copperextractandcapitalizeon the market.'
Computers also hold private or secret information. And securing that data is the fastest growing part of PC Recycler's business.Completelyremovingdata from a computerhard driveis not easy. PC Recycler can remove datamagneticallyor completely destroy and recycle the drives.
Discardingwaste in a way thatmeetsgovernment environmental protection rules is also important. Old TVs cancontainover a kilogram ofleadas well ascadmium-- both highlypoisonous.
PC Recycler supports the Basel Action Network, whichseeksto limit harmful waste and technology. The company says it does not export electronics to China, India or Africa where environmental rules are weak.
Jeremy Faber says PC Recycler has been in business since two thousand three,expandingfrom waste management to other, more technical services.
JEREMY FABER: "There really isn't a lot of industries out there that are like this. There's either the scrap industry where they'reshreddingcars and shredding tires and there's the refurbished PC market and we'resort ofsit right in between both of those.'
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