Printed circuit board recycling in Australia

Abstract

Electronic printed circuit boards (PCBs) are complex assemblies which embody numerous materials and which require quite large quantities of energy and other materials to manufacture. They also include significant quantities of metals such as lead, copper and nickel some of which are toxic to life and all of which are valuable resources. Large volumes of printed circuit boards are imported into Australia every year in television receivers, computers etc. and these must eventually be disposed of. Recovery of the valuable materials and their diversion from landfill where leaching of toxic materials may occur, is an expensive process because of the complexity of the product and the relatively small quantities present on each printed circuit board. This paper uses an LCA approach to examine the value of recycling various grades of PCB. It compares various scenarios from complete landfill to recycling of most metallic components for a range of different PCBs from complex (such as in computer boards) to more simple (such as found on computer CRT monitors) and includes the shipping of PCBs overseas for processing. The study suggests that recycling is very worthwhile from the point of view of material recovery but only marginally worthwhile on other measures. It also reveals that the logistics of collection arrangements are critical and must avoid dedicated vehicle trips to deliver small quantities of end-of-life product.