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Japan Begins Recycling Rare Earth Metals From Electronics

Posted by Soulskill on from the need-fembot-parts dept.

Black Gold Alchemist writes "Dowa, a Japanese mining company in Kosaka, has begun the recycling of rare earth metals from used cellphones and computers. This is in response to a recent, temporary trade embargo from China, which is the leading supplier of rare earth metals needed for production of products including hybrid cars, wind turbines, and LCD screens. Because of the shortage of rare earth metals, Japanese trade minister Akihiro Ohata is asking the government to include a rare earth strategy in its supplementary budget for this year."

6 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. about time too... by advocate_one · · Score: 4, Insightful

    should have been doing this ages ago, but yet again, no pressure to do so while supplies were cheap

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
  2. Goes to show how much of recycling is a gimmick by arivanov · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, this goes to show how much of electronics recycling is a gimmick and publicity stunt.

    Separating rare earths out of electronics waste is actually not that difficult: hit it with acid; do some basic purification first to get rid of Fe, Cu and a few other "usual suspects"; after that ion exchange chromatography does the deed. Even without initial mechanical separation there should be enough of them in the acid effluent. The fact that it was not done shows how much are we really "recycling" there.

    In fact, we should say thank you to China on this one. This may finally make EU, USA and Japan governments put some money behind the electronic waste disposal laws.

    --
    Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
    http://www.sigsegv.cx/
    1. Re:Goes to show how much of recycling is a gimmick by mean+pun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, this goes to show how much of electronics recycling is a gimmick and publicity stunt.

      Actually, it shows that current electronics recycling is not a gimmick, at least in Japan. The entire infrastructure apparently is already in place, is functioning, and is economical enough to survive. There is more to recycling than just rare metals.

  3. Non-cycle? by Smallpond · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What this suggests is that there should be a middle ground between dumping stuff in a landfill and recycling it. We should be segregating material that we don't currently recycle or doesn't make economic sense to recycle, but might become scarce in the future. That will make it easier to recycle when we need it.

    1. Re:Non-cycle? by txoof · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In Norway we have plastic, glass, metal, electronic, paper and food scrap recycling and it's pretty popular. I think most everyone just does it because it's the 'right thing' to do. It doesn't hurt that there's curbside for most of it.

      --
      This one's tricky. You have to use imaginary numbers, like eleventeen... --Hobbes
  4. Necessity... by zrbyte · · Score: 5, Insightful
    THE most powerful driver of change.

    Sadly this is the way we overcome our big problems. Not by foresight, predictions and educated action. The shit has to start hitting the fan to get people moving in the right direction. I mean this whole rare earth situation has been foreseen. It was obvious that China was building a monopoly years ago. The same thing happens with the coming helium shortage, energy problems, global warming, you name it. It really has to get nasty for people to do something about these things.