Zero Waste: Circuit board recycling, the new gold mining

Recycling resources in a verified and responsible way

Bendigo Central Otago was the home of gold mining in New Zealand in the 1880’s. These days, tiny amounts of gold and other elements are used in the construction of circuit boards. The gold is now gone from the hills of Otago so we are now recycling these resources by collecting used circuit boards. These circuit boards will be shipped with complete provenance to ISO 14001 accredited refinery in Japan to be re-refined using some of the best process in the world. Then the metals can be used again.

Circuit boards are found in all electronic products. They are in remotes, toothbrushes, mobile phones, servers, desktops and laptops to name a few. Circuit Boards found in electronic appliances contain very small amounts of metals such as gold, silver, copper, and palladium, which can be re-refined in high tech Japanese refineries and then re-used in new products.

Circuit boards traveling to Japan for re-refining in high tech refineries can be tracked from New Zealand to the port of entry in Japan using GPS. From there they continue to be tracked, traced and audited within Japan using radio frequency tags (RFIP) all the way to the refinery. The tags (see below) are attached to each box of circuit boards before leaving New Zealand so you can be sure of responsible recycling. Furthermore, for each 300kg of circuit boards, the refinery will send a report showing what kinds and how much metal is recovered.

In accordance with the Basel Agreement about the export of toxic waste, the only part of electronics sent overseas to this refinery in Japan are the circuit boards. This is true recycling- the metals recovered will be used again in the electronics industry. This unique system gives total confidence that New Zealand circuit boards are reaching the intended destination.

Updated September 2011