© Ossile / Shutterstock
Every industry today is aiming to operate in an eco-friendly way to help save the environment and natural resources. The electronics industry is no exception, with the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive providing a set of rules designed to tackle the issues of electronic waste.
The question of whether printed circuit boards are recyclable is a complex one as the subject presents several challenges. According to the European Commission, the amount of waste generated by electrical and electronic equipment, known as WEEE or e-waste, is increasing rapidly every year. In the EU, it has become one of the fastest-growing waste sources.
The EU rules on WEEE are aimed at promoting sustainable production and use. They tackle the environmental and other issues caused by an increasing number of discarded electronics across Europe.
Why is it important to recycle electronic waste?
Electrical items such as computers, mobile phones and fridges at the end of their life produce a large amount of electrical and electronic waste. Containing a mixture of different materials, including some that are hazardous, this can cause significant environmental and health problems if these items are discarded carelessly.
In addition, many modern electronic devices contain expensive and rare resources that can be recycled if the process is managed effectively. The WEEE Directive aims to manage the production and recycling processes to keep waste to a minimum.
Preventing the creation of WEEE is the directive’s main priority, supported by efficiently using resources and retrieving raw materials through recycling and re-use where possible. The legislation requires electronic waste to be collected separately from other waste so it can be treated properly. Collection and recycling targets are set and exporters illegally shipping WEEE waste for disposal are targeted.
Are printed circuit boards recyclable?
While PCBs can be recycled, there are significant challenges. One major hurdle is the costs involved, meaning recycling is economical only in very large volumes: PCBs must be consolidated into bulk amounts of 50kg to 100kg to make the recycling process viable, otherwise freight costs would exceed the scrap value of the metals recovered.
When a PCB is populated with components, there are materials that can be recycled such as copper, silver, gold, platinum and palladium. Recycling unpopulated PCBs retrieves small amounts of copper that can be recycled. These boards contain only a minimal amount of tin, gold or silver. The FR4 epoxy glass laminate that comprises the bulk of a bare PCB can’t be recycled, so only the copper content is of value.
The recyclable metals on each PCB are usually small. While there appears to be gold on the tracks, it is very thin, immersion-plated gold, with a thickness of 0.1 microns. Considering that the price per kg offered for scrap populated PCBs is as low as 5p to 10p per kg, several hundred kilograms are required to make it financially viable.
While there is a moral and legal need to recycle scrap electronics, this can be extremely uneconomical in the case of PCBs.
Can recycled PCBs get damaged?
Removing parts from PCBs to recycle the components for reuse as functional parts isn’t practical: it is too easy to damage the small parts, so they would all have to be tested after removal to make sure they still worked. The removed parts would be of lower quality, while the labour costs of recycling them would be massive compared with producing new parts in bulk.
Trying to re-tape and reel old parts pulled off waste circuit boards is totally impractical because of the costs involved. Precious metals on PCBs are usually used in small quantities, so it is a time-consuming process separating them. PCBs have a ratio of 40% metals, 30% ceramics and 30% organic materials.
Once an electrical product reaches the end of its life, it should not be taken to a landfill site, whenever possible, because over time, chemicals can sometimes bleed into the soil. When devices with PCBs are taken to a recycling plant, the boards are sorted and drilled to remove components. The PCBs are cut into smaller chunks to remove parts such as capacitors, semiconductors, batteries, motors, plugs, LEDs and fasteners.
Magnetic separators at the recycling plant will pull ferromagnetic materials off non-ferrous metals and other non-magnetic waste. The WEEE Directive and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive demand different recycling methods for these components.
So, while recycling old PCBs is a complex and often expensive process, it does add to the ecological value of our planet, while increasing sustainability and improving our quality of life.