Is there a golden waste in our computers?

Probably many of you have heard of precious metal scrap. As you know, these are not only damaged or unusable jewelry, but also other wastes containing precious metals, such as electronics or car parts.

Precious metals are commonly found in computers and electronics, such as control boards, circuit boards, or chips. They contain gold and silver and such waste is considered as precious metal scrap waste. As you know, precious metals are also found in cars. They are found in car electronics, car control systems, computers and catalytic converters.

In terms of quantity, most precious metals are found in automotive catalysts. They contain about 1.5 grams of platinum and palladium metals. However, a lot of precious metals are also found in computers and mobile phones. Although there is not much precious metal in one smartphone, the end result is thought-provoking, given that about 1.7 billion smartphones are sold each year. One million smartphones can be found in about 34 kilograms of gold, 15,900 kilograms of copper and 350 kilograms of silver.

According to a United Nations report, in 2018 alone, 44.7 million tons of unused or obsolete electronics were discarded worldwide and only 20 percent of electronic waste was properly recycled. From the numbers mentioned above, it can be assumed that the numbers are translating from the stem.

Nevertheless, it is important to understand that the process of extracting precious metals requires security measures, as well as high specifications, so it is proposed to give your unused or obsolete electronics to trusted, recycled hands. Specialists with the necessary knowledge will carry out the entire processing process in order to reuse the raw material.