Electronic Recycling

Printed circuit boards are a common component of many electronic systems built for both military and commercial applications. Printed circuit boards are typically manufactured by laminating dry film on clean copper foil, which is supported on a fiberglass plate matrix. The film is exposed with a film negative of the circuit board design, and an etcher is used to remove unmasked copper foil from the plate.

Solder is then applied over the unetched copper on the board. Depending upon the use and design of the particular printed circuit board, various other metals may be used in the manufacturing process, including lead, silver, gold, platinum, and mercury. Printed circuit boards are potentially a difficult waste material to process since they generally have no usefulness once they are removed from the electrical component in which they were installed. In addition, they typically consist of materials that classify them as a hazardous or "special" waste stream. They must be segregated and handled separately from other nonhazardous solid waste streams. Printed circuit boards that are handled as waste materials must be processed using any one of several available disposal options. Not only are these options expensive, they require a significant amount of effort and handling by the generator. Furthermore, since some of these disposal options do not include destruction of the waste circuit boards, the generator also retains much of the liability associated with improper handling or disposal.

As an alternative to off-site disposal, printed circuit boards can be handled and processed to recover the value of the raw materials that are used to produce the boards. Several companies offer recycling services as an alternative to off-site disposal of obsolete printed circuit boards. These services will generally process the boards by systematically removing raw materials of value from the board matrix. The materials include metals such as silver, lead, copper, and gold. Depending upon the volume and characteristics of the printed circuit boards processed through a particular vendor, the raw materials can be recovered and the salvage value potentially returned to the generator.

Typically, the vendor will provide a waste material profile form, which will be used by the generator to describe the nature, quantity, and additional characteristics of the circuit boards to be processed. Once the vendor approves of the processing arrangement, the generator will prepare the circuit boards for shipment. The handling and transportation methods used will depend on the volume of material, distance to be shipped, and vendor requirements.