[FreeGeek] FG Contingency Meeting: Sunday Sept 16, 2pm

[Paul Teehan]

What I said about the smelter - I assumed teck is not equipped to
handle gold recycling in e-waste, but that may have been premature.
according to their website http://www.tcer.ca/ they are currently
"removing" circuit boards from the flow (don't know if they store them
or if they get rid of them some other way) but future process
enhancements they're working on will allow them to recover gold and
other metals.  see step 5 at http://www.tcer.ca/theprocess.html.

high tech trash describes mining companies acquiring e-waste to use as
ore for precious metals.  teck is a mining company, after all.    I
would be very interested to know more about their process and how far
away they are from these improvements.


On 9/14/07, Paul Teehan <paul.teehan at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi guys
>
> It is a bad time for me right now, it doesn't look like I can make it.
>  I really would like to be there but I have too much other stuff to
> do.  I will inject my opinion here as my way of contributing. :-)
>
> i know the search for a recycler was protracted and contentious - but
> perhaps it is worth reopening the debate?  if we need cash flow
> outside the thrift store, we need to sell our scrap to someone.   in
> particular I was looking at genesis recycling's page and if they do
> everything they say they do, I can't really imagine anyone better.
> given that 36zero was going to give us some money for our scrap,
> presumably they would too?
>
> also here is something to chew on.  I've been reading a book called
> 'High Tech Trash' by Elizabeth Grossman.  there's a link on BAN's
> website.  it's a fantastic book for anyone interested in the
> environmental impact of high tech.
>
> early on she talks about the raw materials used in computers.  we know
> that gold is used extensively (mostly coating connectors and pins).
> gold is also fully recyclable, although most of the gold in
> electronics (~70%) is 'new'.  you probably have an idea that mining is
> not particularly environmentally friendly.  what you might be
> surprised to hear is that one ton of discarded PCs contains about as
> much gold as 17 tons of gold ore.  if you want to mine gold, it is
> more efficient to dig through old PCs than to dig in the ground.
>
> this made me think of the provincial program and everything ending up
> in the smelter and all those materials being lost instead of recycled.
>  certainly it is a good argument against landfill.  now a bunch of
> websites have sprung up, such as at encorp, and it seems like the
> smelter is not necessarily part of the plan (at least from what I can
> find):
>
> "Following collection, designated end-of-life equipment will be moved
> to consolidation sites in selected areas of the province where
> transport-efficient loads of sorted material types will be assembled.
> Full loads of collected designated end-of-life material are then
> transported to approved processing and recycling contractors. All
> recyclers will be under contract with ESABC and required to meet
> Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) Recycling Vendor
> Qualification Standards to ensure materials are processed in an
> environmentally sound manner with appropriate health, safety and
> export provisions."
>
> As long as the stuff is recycled properly and safely, the
> environmental angle is taken care of (setting aside the reuse problems
> for the moment).  But if we have the option, we should ensure we're
> getting well compensated for our scrap.
>
> good luck at the meeting
> - Paul
>
>
>
> On 9/14/07, David Repa <david.repa at freegeekvancouver.org> wrote:
> > Hey Everyone,
> >
> > > Sunday Sept. 16
> > > 2pm
> > > Location TBA
> > >
> >
> > The meeting will be held at Free Geek, the light house idea didn't work
> > out.
> >
> > --
> > David
> >
> >
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>