Scientists make technological breakthrough that could prevent tons of hazardous e-waste: 'We have created a new formulation'

Story by Leslie Sattler

Imagine a world where your old phone or laptop doesn't end up clogging a landfill but instead gets a new lease on life.

That's the promise of an exciting breakthrough from researchers at the University of Washington, according to Anthropocene Magazine.

The heart of an electronic device is the circuit board. These boards are made of tough plastics that make them difficult to recycle. As a result, hundreds of thousands of tons of circuit boards get dumped in landfills each year as gadgets become obsolete. Burning this e-waste to recover valuable metals creates toxic pollution that harms our air, soil, and water.

The UW researchers solved this problem by replacing the typical epoxy plastic in circuit boards with a special material called a vitrimer. When heated, vitrimers can flow and form new bonds, allowing them to be recycled repeatedly without losing integrity. READ MORE…