Consumer electronics have changed a lot in the past 20 years. TVs, laptops and monitors are thinner and smarter. Watches talk to us, and fridges can update our shopping list. But if you look at the end-of-life phase of electronics – not much has changed. Recycling of e-waste remains a labour-intensive and often dangerous job.
Many Australian states have banned the dumping of flat screen displays in landfill because of the toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and arsenic that can leach into the soil. Those same chemicals pose risks to workers in the recycling sector.
Doug Rowe, Director of Ecocycle says the e-waste industry has long sought a safe and efficient process for handling and recycling flat screen displays.
He says the same way automation and robotics has revolutionised electronics manufacturing, it can change end-of-life processing for e-waste.
Doug has introduced robotics, automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into his Victorian e-waste recycling facility, with the aim of creating a safe work environment and to reclaim valuable materials from e-waste.
He says the FPD PRO has changed the way screens will be disposed of.
Way of the future
“Robots have been with us for many decades, mainly confined to performing specialised tasks inside controlled industrial plants,” he says. “But this is changing at a breathtaking speed as we teach robots to perform more complicated tasks in more difficult environments.
“Ecocycle is convinced that robotic developments will change the world, the same way that the wheel, electricity or computers have done in the past. This Flat Panel Display (FPD) processing technology performs dangerous and dirty tasks while protecting our staff, our environment and natural resources.”
Doug says robotics, automation and AI have been used in a range of recycling areas over the years, bringing with them unprecedented increases in efficiency and safety.
AI is helping robots to sort recycling from rubbish. With advanced cameras and technology some robots can determine the chemicals insidexbatteries, others can recognise if items are damaged.
In 2021, engineering researchers at the University of Sydney partnered with industry sources to develop a recycling robot that will ‘see’ and sort soft plastics.
Recycling flat panel displays has always posed a problem for e-waste recyclers because of the mercury in cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), the light source for LCD screens, Doug says.
He says research conducted on behalf of the European Commission found a typical 32-inch FPD TV has up to 20 CCFLs and contains 45 milligrams of mercury on average.
When a lamp is damaged e-waste handlers can be exposed to mercury vapour and dust which is a high health risk because of its toxic properties. Mercury can also vaporise at room temperature so people working with it are not always aware of the risks.
Eliminating risks
Doug says the first goal when looking at introducing robots and AI to the facility was to develop an automated process for recycling TVs, monitors and laptops that was safe, efficient and viable.
“Both the environment and the operators need to be protected,” he says. “The best way to protect your staff and reduce your liability is mitigation of the mercury exposure risk.
“Removing staff from performing the hazardous task of removing CCFL tubes is common sense approach that most larger manufactures are now demanding.”
The automated FPD PRO at Ecocycle can process flat panel displays from 280 millimetres to 1755 millimetres, irrespective of their age or type. Two people can process about 100 screens an hour.
Processing happens in a controlled enclosure, minimising worker exposure. Carbon filtration systems act as fail-safes. All hazardous components are isolated in a dedicated waste bin. The plastic shell of screens and monitors can be further processed.
Doug says each processed screen is automatically weighted and the make, model number, and at times serial number is recorded. The data is used to create detailed reports for the screen’s manufacturer so they know their product is being recycled correctly and not dumped in landfill. The system will allow Ecocycle to build a data base of products collected and recycled.
While Australia has been slow to address the issue of mercury in screens, Doug says FPD Recycling recognised the issues involved and developed a solution, in the process it is turning e-waste from an environmental risk to a valuable resource of secondary materials.
Resource recovery
FPD’s contain valuable, in demand metals and materials such as aluminium, steel, copper, plastics, glass and gold. All can be reused after the hazardous parts are removed.
“For too long, people have been exposed to hazards of depolluting mercury from TVs, monitors and laptops,” Doug says. “Now there is a real solution that provides a better quality of reclaimed materials, dismantles screens in a fraction of the time, and without exposing workers and the environment to the toxic substances.
“Advanced robotic recycling technologies allow us to move away from the take-make-waste linear model to a circular economy.
“It’s time to start looking at e-waste as a source of valuable materials, rather than harmful toxic waste that is pushed around until it ends up in landfills around the globe.”
Doug says there’s a shift away from sending difficult to process waste streams off-shore and an increasing preference to be able to manage them within Australia.
“Many of the larger multi-nationals are demanding their products are 100 per cent recycled and not sent for reuse or repurpose, with Ecocycle you can have that comfort and assurance.”
He says introducing technology such as the FPD PRO aligns with the nation’s move to a circular economy and taking responsibility for its own waste. It will also give manufacturers confidence about recycling compliance.
“Manufacturers will see that large investments are being made to ensure the very best state-of-the-art technology is available for them in Australia.
“They can be confident their end-of-life products don’t end up in land fill are not sent to developing nations, reused or repurposed but are fully recycled with vital natural resources recovered.”
“The potential consequences of resource scarcity for future generations is easy to see. Everybody needs to act and support responsible recycling.”
For more information, visit: www.ecocycle.com.au