Platinum (Element)
What is Platinum?
When you think about platinum, computers and office equipment may not be the first things that come to mind. Platinum is a precious metal that serves many purposes. Platinum is highly valued for jewelry, but you may not know an estimated 20% of all products consumers purchase contain platinum.
The precious metal’s uses are extensive, including jewelry, automotive, chemical processing, and electronics. The electronics you use daily, from the display on your smartphone to the hard drive in your computer, contain platinum. Nearly every piece of electronic equipment in your office has a component that contains platinum.
Wasted Resources
Throwing away a piece of platinum jewelry would be unthinkable, and yet the majority of electronics that contain platinum end up in a landfill. In 2019, only an estimated 17.4% of platinum, gold, and other precious metals were recovered and recycled. Billions of dollars worth of precious metals are lost each year because electronic recycling is not commonplace.
Our society has become accustomed to depleting the earth’s resources to create products and then throwing the product, and those resources, away when we are done with it. Adopting a circular economy, where we reuse the resources from discarded products instead of continually seeking brand new resources, is one way we can have a positive impact on our planet. NewTech Recycling is committed to protecting the environment and aims to repurpose 99% of the e-waste we collect.
Platinum in Office E-waste
Outdated office equipment that your office needs to get rid of almost all contains platinum and other precious metals such as gold and silver. Platinum is used to coat electrodes, and is also used in the manufacture of liquid-crystal display (LCD) glass and flat-panel displays, as well as cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors.
Computer hard drives are one of the most common components to find platinum in the office setting, which is one reason to use proper computer recycling and IT equipment recycling services when disposing of these electronics. E-waste recycling ensures that all of the platinum, and other usable components of your electronics, are recovered.
Recycling to Protect the Environment
Although platinum is more valuable than gold, platinum is mined less. Mining platinum from e-waste is actually more efficient than mining from ore. Reclaiming precious metals from used electronics produces 80% fewer carbon dioxide emissions than mining directly from the ore.
Although it would be easier to dispose of your electronics with your regular garbage pickup, doing so would have negative consequences for the planet and is also illegal in many states. You can bring all your e-waste directly to NewTech Recycling’s facility, or we can even come to your office and remove all of your old electronics for you.
Do Your Part to Help the Environment with NewTech Recycling
Using local e-waste recycling services will help electronics become more sustainable instead of continuously depleting the earth’s resources. NewTech Recycling makes it easy for your company to do its part.
If any equipment is still usable, we can pay you for your used items before refurbishing them. We will do our best to reclaim every piece of your broken or obsolete e-waste, saving it from the landfill and helping you do your part in protecting the environment.