Lots of people are a part of the movement to recycle and reuse. There is a growing trend to shop in second hand stores and tons of interesting ways to make old products into new useful ones in the home are being practiced. Of course, tons of citizens are using recycling services to take care of the materials that can be recycled and made useful again. In more recent history, the emphasis or at least some of the attention has come to computers. Obviously, computers are full of parts and components that Mother Nature simply can’t break down. Fortunately, a good computer recycling center can. If you have ever wondered what happens to an unusable computer after it goes to the computer recycling center, here is a closer look.
As you know and we have already noted, computers are complied of all kinds of different materials. The computer recycling center is equipped to break these various elements down. First on our list of recyclables found in computers is glass. Not only is it the main part of the screen, glass can also be in the internal workings of the monitor as well. This glass isn’t regular run of the mill glass. Its leaded glass and has to be recycled accordingly. With the advent and continued popularity of LCD and plasma technology, the uses for recycled leaded glass are decreasing. This trend may lead to fewer resources for this type of recycling in the future unfortunately.
Another element of work that the computer recycling center is responsible for is batteries. Its no surprise that batteries are a huge potential hazard in the environment. The ones found in home and business computers are no exception. If a computer recycling center isn’t equipped to recycle the batteries found in laptop computers and cell phones, most companies will outsource this work to a recycling center that can.
The largest elements in standard computers that should be recycled are plastics and metals. These two products make up about 80% of the total recyclables of the systems. One of the biggest challenges a computer recycling center faces is breaking down the many different types of metal and plastic. Most metals and plastics can’t just be melted together. Chemical reactions often demand that like metals and like plastics be recycled together. In other words, steel doesn’t like to be joined with copper and level one plastic can’t be mixed with level three for example. Despite the challenges the computer recycling centers across the country continue to look for more effective and safer ways to recycle computers and electronic equipment.