E-Waste and the Winter Olympics

It seemed to be an odd combination.

Not long ago, an article was passed on to me that caught my interest. As you’re probably aware, a variety of metals, both resources and toxins, are found within electronics. Environmental risk mitigation in general requires control of components in need of special handling and treatment. Good IT asset management and e-waste recycling companies go through extensive measures to ensure that materials containing heavy metals are properly managed and quantified for accountability.

So when I read that medals for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver were cast using recycled gold and silver extracted from discarded electronics, it was hard to contain my happiness. Finally, I thought, good news for the e-waste recycling industry, among all the conflicts, positioning and opinions over e-waste.

Gold, silver and bronze are co-mingled in high-value circuit cards. But as with all precious metals, other less-valuable but nevertheless sought-after heavy metals are part of the mix. Low-value circuit cards from televisions, monitors, printers, etc., are metallurgically collective mixtures. With a little help, they become bronze alloys. However, there was no mention in the news reports about the origin of the bronze metals.

High- and low-value e-waste material containing circuitry requires various forms of treatment to extract all the metals. It is more expensive and requires more technical steps than simply sending this potential toxin to developing countries, which in any event have not been able to provide safe processing. In this special case, though, circuit cards made their way, via a responsible e-waste recycler or recyclers, to a Canadian smelter.

The 2010 Winter Olympics could not have made a better environmental sustainability statement than by commissioning these special castings for the winners. I’m excited about this obscure milestone. The e-waste recycling industry has the means to accomplished responsible solid waste management if only it would put its mind to that goal. And by spotlighting recycling in such a high-profile venue, the Winter Olympics have helped put e-waste resource recycling higher on the world’s agenda.

After three decades working in the recycling industry, I’d thought I‘d seen it all. But I’m happy to know I was wrong, and that bringing responsible recycling actions and their beneficial results to the forefront is a fulfilling experience we can all share.