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Digital Waste Worth More Than Gold, Copper Ore

Posted by kdawson on from the but-then-there's-the-cadmium dept.

tcd004 writes "Imagine sheer mountains of discarded Pentium IIIs, tractor trailers overflowing with discarded wall warts. Photojournalist Natalie Behring visited Guiyu, China and documented the world's biggest digital dump where, for $2 per day, the locals sort, disassemble, and pulverize hundreds of tons of e-waste. The payoff is huge: computer waste contains 17 times more gold than gold ore, 40 times more copper than copper ore. But the detritus also leaches chemicals and metals into local water supplies."

14 of 302 comments (clear)

  1. Imagine a digital dump by nmoog · · Score: 4, Funny

    1s and 0s as far as the eye can see!

    1. Re:Imagine a digital dump by Kris_J · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think I saw a 2

    2. Re:Imagine a digital dump by digitig · · Score: 5, Funny

      I always wondered what /dev/null actually looked like!

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
    3. Re:Imagine a digital dump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      A digital dump? Yah, that'll happen if you don't get enough fiber.

  2. Environmentally irresponsibility by nmoog · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you say that it's environmentally irresponsibility to throw away computer equipment, your girlfriend can't get mad that you've got a cluster of Amiga2000s making your house look like a digital dump.

    1. Re:Environmentally irresponsibility by nmoog · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh cut and paste. My good friend and bitterly enemy.

    2. Re:Environmentally irresponsibility by QuickFox · · Score: 5, Funny

      Girlfriends and Clusters of Amiga2000s are mutually exclusive. I realize that by asking what this means I'll lose every single geek point I might have had, as I reveal my ignorance about some arcane technology that is undoubtedly known to every geek in the Universe except me, but still I have to ask: What's a Girlfriend?
      --
      Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
  3. Where have I heard this before? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2, Funny
    ... the world's biggest digital dump ...

    Bender, is that you?

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    1. Re:Where have I heard this before? by revengebomber · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey! Melting down those broken robots is just wrong! Especially when they're sucking up to me like that!

      --
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
      45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
  4. Dang... by EraseEraseMe · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...computer waste contains 17 times more gold than gold ore, 40 times more copper than copper ore...

    I'm lucky if I get 4 Thorium ore from one mine :( I think I'm going to have to level up recycling.

    --
    "Anybody who tells me I can't use a program because it's not open source, go suck on rms. I'm not interested." (LT 2004)
  5. For sale by Mr2cents · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ok, if anyone is interested, I have tons of used 1's and 0's in my basement. They're pre-sorted. I'm willing to sell them for 2 cents/kilobit.

    The bits will be sent to you as a self-extracting executable.

    --
    "It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
  6. I'm such an addict by vell0cet · · Score: 2, Funny

    Did anyone else read the title and think it was about World of Warcraft?

  7. Re:Thoughts on recycling by Opportunist · · Score: 2, Funny

    You are aware that you're talking about people who think the "future" is what they write in their quarter-year report or how they get reelected in up to 4 years, yes?

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. Maybe... by Mahjub+Sa'aden · · Score: 2, Funny

    Because there's so damn many of them?

    --
    What is is all that is. Isn't that obvious?