PCBs
There is focus to save the environment with the drive to Net Zero, but if it’s done without thinking about the recyclability of these consumables and the reuse of fragile and depleting resources, there is exposure to as big a risk in the greedy consumption of those resources. More importantly, we continue to poison the very nature of what we strive to protect.
Today there is focus on the plastics and metalworks integrated within the electronic products manufactured, and compliance with WEEE requirements to attempt to dispose of the products in a more controlled manner, but it doesn’t diminish that there is a real issue with the recyclability of the printed circuit assemblies that are the backbone of every one of the electronic products consumed.
Printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA’s) generally achieve 3 to 5 per cent recyclability, with harness and wiring looms at best 20 per cent recycled. So, here’s the rub: it takes signifi cant energy (creating considerable CO2e), effort, and process time to extract the reusable properties and materials of a populated PCB. In turn, this equates to a cost, often too high for this to be of commercial value. Invariably this means the materials are buried, burned in a controlled
manner, or shipped from the shores of developed countries and dumped in the most underdeveloped.
In 2019 the global e-waste generated amounted to 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt), as reported in the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor. This is substantially more than the weight of all adults in Europe combined. The report also details that of the 53.6 Mt of e-waste generated, only 17.4 per cent was collected and recycled. The gold, platinum, copper, and other high-value recoverable materials was conservatively valued at over $57 billion – a sum greater than the Gross Domestic Product of most countries – was mostly dumped or burned, rather than being collected for reuse.
Furthermore, e-waste rates are rising at an alarming rate. The UN’s Global E-waste Monitor’s projections show that by 2030 e-waste generation will amount to over 74 million metric tonnes per year, almost doubling annual e-waste in just 16 years. Landfi ll is often seen to be the cheapest and easiest solution! But at what cost?
Is this our legacy?
The problem lies, as noted, in the fact that it is currently not commercially viable to recycle PCBA’s and therefore there is a thriving
black market in the illegal transportation of e-waste to developing countries. Once there, it is unethically processed, damaging the environment and every living thing in it. Interpol found that one in three containers of waste exported from Europe contained illegal e-waste! As far back as November and December 2012, Operation Enigma saw the participation of the police, customs, port authorities, environmental and maritime law enforcement agencies of seven European and African countries. The operation aimed to identify and disrupt the illegal collection, recycling, export, import, and shipping of discarded electronic products such as computers, televisions, and other electronic devices before they are dumped in landfi lls, or other sites where they can cause severe environmental and human harm. Checks were conducted at major ports in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, all within Europe - a region considered to be a common source of electronic waste being shipped internationally; and in Ghana, Guinea, and Nigeria, siting Africa as a region considered to be the destination of this waste. Almost one-third of the checks resulted in the discovery of illegal electronic waste.
What can we do about it? At In2tec we believe ReUSE highly recyclable electronic circuit boards is the answer and the paradigm shift the world is calling for. In2tec and Sun Chemical have developed a series of patented ultra-low temperature releasable adhesives, manufacturing (ReUSE) and recycling processes (ReCYCLE) for the fabrication of electronic circuit assemblies. This technology allows for components to be populated at low temperatures, saving energy, and easily removed from PCBs using little more than boiling water. This ‘unzipping’ technique means even complex components can be extracted easily and cleanly from used PCBs and returned for a second life, driving a circular economy of used parts, and allowing for PCBs to have up to 100 per cent recyclability. With the use of highly recyclable substrates, such as aluminium or nano-cellulose, we can realise the fi rst 100 per cent recyclable printed circuit board assemblies. Such a process means that a
component’s usefulness does not have to end just because the PCB on which it is mounted has reached its end of useful life. These components can be recycled and reused meaning that they no longer need to go straight to landfill or be burned, and just as importantly, the valuable resources and precious metals do not need to be
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continually mined and depleted. In creating a truly circular economy with the generation of secondary markets in used components, their life is extended beyond discontinued OEM parts and reduces the demand for illegal-market component ‘copies’. The UK has the potential to lead the world in taking a stand on PCB and electronics recyclability and component reuse. If it is no longer buried or burned, the health hazard created by e-waste is eliminated and this helps to protect the world for future generations.
Conclusion
Carbon footprint reduction, circular economy, and e-waste reduction are the three main goals we strive for today on our path to environmental impact minimisation. ReUSE technologies have genuinely provided a start and the impetus to develop solutions from the ground up. The latest figures of 2021 show that e-waste reached a staggering 57.4 Mt. If ReUSE and ReCYCLE technologies and processes were implemented in just 2.5 per cent of the global printed circuit board assemblies, every year it would save the equivalent C02 of planting 91 million mature trees!
If only 10 per cent of PCBA’s manufactured in 2023 are recyclable, it could prevent 6 Mt of e-waste, equivalent to the weight of 600 Eiffel Towers. You don’t need to change the functionality, quality or fit of your electronics to significantly improve their sustainability value or circular opportunity. But globally, we must all change our approach to electronics design and manufacture to address these problems together.
In2tec’s design philosophy is that nothing is impossible. In2tec has been at the forefront of innovation in flexible electronics and Smart HMI for more than 20 years. It started its work towards developing truly sustainable electronics in 2007 and since has continued its path to sustainability. British-based In2tec’s stated mission is to ‘Protect the World for Future Generations by Inspiring Sustainable Electronics’. We will continue to do this by hiring next-generation thinkers, innovators, and entrepreneurs to make sure we are able to meet our goal of ceasing landfill e-waste through 100 per cent recycling of substrates, conductive circuits, and electronic components, via ultra-low energy unzipping and second-life usage for constituent parts.
http://www.in2tec.com Components in Electronics November 2022 49
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