European e-waste to be processed at new recycling facility
Wednesday, July 13, 2016 - 13:05:41
Electronic waste from across Europe will be dealt with at a new plant being opened in the Netherlands early next year by Japanese firm, Mitsubishi, according to CIWM.
Mitsubishi is working together with a number of partner firms to establish the facility, although it is the majority owner and is hoping to expand its influence in the European e-waste industry.
In particular, it is the process of extracting copper and other precious metals from unwanted mobile phones, computers, appliances and other devices that will be handled at the plant. And Mitsubishi has developed its own solutions to make this achievable in the most sustainable, eco-friendly manner.
At the moment, the firm can process around 140,000 tonnes of e-waste each year at its existing facilities. But by opening a new recycling centre in Europe, it will be aiming to increase this capacity by a significant margin.
People across the UK and the rest of the continent are major consumers of electronic items, most of which make use of circuit boards that are built using valuable minerals. And when these gadgets break down or become outdated, the materials they contain often go to waste if e-waste is not properly processed.
The Netherlands-based facility which Mitsubishi is working on at the moment is set to begin operations in 2017 and will largely act as a collection hub for the whole of Europe, with e-waste examined on-site before being categorised and compartmentalised and then shipped further afield for full processing to take place.
Since many of the mobile phones and other items which people use in the UK are actually built in Japan and China, the recycling process generally allows key materials to flow back to this part of the world, creating a circular economy that is an environmentally sound alternative to traditional manufacturing solutions.
Latest News
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - 10:32:41
Every industry around the world has been impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and recycling has been especially affected as a result of force [...]
Read More
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - 21:33:36
Apple has pulled back the curtains on the all-new iPhone SE, bringing with it a raft of eco-friendly design features which aim to improve the green cr [...]
Read More
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 - 21:32:00
Researchers from New Zealand have demonstrated a new recycling solution which could help companies to reclaim rare materials from smartphones, PCs and [...]
Read More