E-Waste: Some Interesting Processes

In the Hutong
Seeking quiet
1105 hrs.

One of the areas I see undergoing major changes because of technology is the recycling industry. I have some strong opinions on the topic, but at the moment, that's all I have, so I'm reading about it rather than writing.

Lori Yalem, and old friend in Los Angeles and a recycling/waste management consultant, pointed me toward two companies who are doing some interesting work in the area - admittedly in North America - who are developing some interesting process for handling e-waste, turning old computers into their component materials to ease recycling and cut down on the material wasted in the process.

One of them is MaSeR (Material Separation and Recovery), based in Ontario, Canada. The other is Cascade Asset Management in Wisconsin.

I'm still digesting a lot of this, but one of the things that strikes me is how so many of these environmental industries are popping up in parts of the North America largely bypassed by the economic boom of the last decade and a half. Yet another sign that China's rust belt northeast would be a logical place to seed China's own recycling/demanufacturing/remanufacturing and other environment-related sectors.

Comments

[China Law Blog]

Not sure if it is for the same reasons, but just read how Toledo, Ohio, is becoming a solar energy center. Seems it has plenty of engineers very knowledgeable about glass, along with plenty of factory space and cheap labor. Might be same sort of thing with the enviro industry.

[spencer]

How are these recyclers supposed to get their processed materials to China? They're so far inland that the shipping costs alone make them less competitive than the West Coast recyclers.
If they can sell the materials locally in the States, then they'll be much better off.
Good post on this industry on the rise.