E-waste Recycling
How Does It Work?
Jeff Johnson

E-waste Drake Hardware & Software collects is hauled by semi-truck to Walford, Iowa where technicians disassemble the units into pieces that can be recycled. Metal is sent to the smelters, plastic to the plastic recyclers, usable parts are sometimes sent overseas to third world countries, or some usable parts are re-sold at a reduced price.

The most exciting part of the recycling system involves the breakdown of CRT's (Cathode Ray Tubes), found in monitors and TVs as pictured here:



Technicians disassemble old monitors by hand, stripping them down to just the bare tube. Technicians break down monitors Monday through Thursday, then stack all of the CRTs on large pallets. On Friday, the CRTs are loaded on to a conveyer belt one-by-one and are taken up to the top of the CRT Glass Processing System. Each CRT falls through hammering/crushing devices that break the CRT inside a secured area. Gases contained in the CRT are sucked out through three (3) Hepa filters. Pieces of the CRT are taken along another conveyer belt and another large magnetized belt runs over this conveyer picking up miscellaneous metal pieces that are then transferred to a container. The remaining pieces travel down the conveyer to another container.

Here is a picture of the CRT Glass Processing System:



Drake Hardware & Software has been collecting e-waste for recyling in the area for the past five years. The recycling fees we charge are the same rates at the recycling center - no additional mark-ups are applied. Collection service is done by Drake Hardware & Software on a volunteer basis.

Drake Hardware & Software started the e-waste collection and recycling program, as a proactive step to create an easy way for businesses and end-users to recycle their old electronic equipment. In this way, rather than ending up in a landfill, or disposed in a way that exposes the environment to hazardous materials, old electronic equipment gets a new lease on life. And you get to do something good for your Earth (not to mention be a part of a really cool process!).