How and why is it crucial to recover and recycle minerals from electronic gadgets
Author: Stacy Rebecca Juliana A
Technology being wedged in our daily lives in one way or the other comes with several requirements and one of the modest requirements is batteries. And like most commodities, batteries too are expected to undergo recycling due to valuable minerals like lithium and cobalt. The nature of this activity fits that of a circular economy. This model focuses on minimal waste and maximum resources to accomplish sustainable development.
Several mining companies and governments have identified the value of mineral recycling and many investments are going into battery recycling. However, there are many hindrances to achieve successful mineral recycling.
Minerals like lithium and cobalt are sourced from areas where violence, frailty and friction exist. Many stakeholders are hesitant to recycle materials from these zones in fear and worry of violence and corruption inherent in their origin.
As the demand for batteries grows, the costs of cobalt and lithium inflate. This hindrance can force producers to replace cobalt with other materials of low value which leads to the batteries becoming not economically worthwhile to recycle.
The way products are designed can restrict the capacity of minerals for recovery and recycling purposes. Dismantling and disassembly or improper labelling can all become energy and time-consuming procedures posing as an obstacle.
Hibernation of electronics where the product is not used but the owner does not discard it for recycling can push the product to become useless. For the recycling of cobalt and lithium, numerous challenges appear right from technological issues to safety concerns.
All shades of problems that follow the recycling processes are barriers for the public sector while establishing liability and responsibility in the supply chain for recycled commodities and to set targets for recycling.
With all these obstacles in mineral recycling, stakeholders need to find other alternatives to develop and expand their efforts to attribute to sustainable developments and a circular economy.
Cooperation between the private, public and civil sectors is a strong way to overcome barriers existent everywhere. Pooling in ideas, regulations and efforts through sturdy communication between all three sectors can ease the functioning and success of mineral recycling.
Producers should keep mineral recycling in mind and focus on making eco-friendly designs of batteries so that there is no hassle later while the used commodity goes through the chain of recovery and recycling.
Consumers should on the other hand be aware of mineral recycling and should also be greatly encouraged to recycle their electronics that are unused. Financial incentives will motivate consumers to recycle their gadgets.
There are other alternatives to foster mineral recycling. Cobalt and lithium transition to a low-carbon economy hence, the importance of recycling these minerals. The cooperation of the society’s sectors can lead to achieving a sustainable circular economy.
Image Source: Smartphone Facts
Reference: International Institute of Sustainable Development
Source article: https://www.iisd.org/articles/battery-recycling
Add Comment