The EPA needs to get on the same page as the Department of Energy — and begin to support local efforts to “bio mine” the e-waste stream, writes Howard Husock.
The war in Ukraine and the related economic sanctions on Russia have thrown into relief U.S. dependence on unfriendly nations for key, so-called rare earth minerals for use in electronics, including electronic vehicles and defense technology. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite are imported from “unreliable foreign sources,” including Russia, China, and conflict zones in Africa such as Congo.
A February 2020 analysis of the e-waste stream finds as many as 56 elements in electronic devices routinely sent to dumps. These include “14 rare earth elements, six platinum group metals, 20 critical metals, and 16 other elements, including some precious metals.” The study also finds that 1 kilogram of mixed e-waste, if separated from the general waste stream, can be worth $168. The resources in a similar amount of hard drives are valued — again, if isolated for recovery — at $454.
Let’s hope the Biden plans include more such research — and even grants to major municipalities to build demonstration e-waste recycling facilities. In the meantime, however, the Environmental Protection Agency, which has long been pushing localities to recycle paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic, must expand its focus and grant-making to include e-waste. To date, that has not been the case. Indeed, in its November 2021 National Recycling Plan, the EPA ignored the potential of e-waste entirely.
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