Dive summary:
- A British designer has come up with a low-tech way to recycle e-waste with an old bicycle and a contraption he calls Esource.
- Esource is a pedal-powered shredder which pulverizes copper and plastic into fine pieces and then separates the two materials in the bottom.
- A significant amount of e-waste is currently sent to developing countries where people take apart e-waste in extremely dangerous ways; if Esource catches on, it may make the job much safer and easier for people.
From the article:
Watts visited an e-waste dump in Ghana while researching his pet project. He observed the burning process first hand and talked to local copper exporters. Most of the copper is exported back to Europe, which dumps it in Ghana, often illegally. A British environmental agency estimates Europe exports 75 percent, or 8 million tons, of its e-waste illegally.
However, trying to introduce modern technology to an industry based in some of the poorest countries on the planet simply wouldn't work. That's why Watts settled for a low-tech approach that can be built and operated with limited resources. His device requires just a bit of water to separate the plastic from the metal, and anyone with a blowtorch and access to a scrap heap should be able to build one. Watts was inspired by old gold-panning devices, which have been around for centuries. ...
