2 ms·

e-waste can be recycled, useful metals can be reclaimed. It doesn’t matter how much power it uses if it’s switched to solar, and there are lower power options

by imgabe 6y ago

e-waste can be recycled, useful metals can be reclaimed. It doesn’t matter how much power it uses if it’s switched to solar, and there are lower power options like proof-of-stake coming online anyway. The relevant metric is tons of CO2 released, not kWh used. Bitcoin could be run with zero CO2 released if we chose to, in which case shutting it down would do absolutely nothing in regard to climate change.

arcticbull 6y ago
[1, 2] does not suggest that recycling of e-waste actually happens. Solve that first, power supply second, then re-enable Bitcoin mining and you've got my vote. Basically, it can't really be economically recycled, and it isn't. It's just thrown in heaps where poor folks in developing nations scrabble through the toxic remains. "Useful metals" is a few grams of gold, tin and copper. The rest is plastics (non-recyclables) and FR4 (epoxy filled fiberglass). Fiberglass is also not recyclable. Your plan amounts to little more than greenwashing. > Recyclers can make money from selling scavenged metal from electronic equipment, says Puckett, but the process to retrieve usable metals is typically extremely toxic. Workers who remove the metals often have no protective equipment and breathe in high levels of toxic chemicals, which are then released into the atmosphere. And most of the countries where the processing takes place -- China, India, Ghana, Pakistan -- do not have regulations in place to protect workers or prevent the primitive recycling operations. Most of electronics is plastic (epoxy is a plastic), and by and large plastic simply isn't recyclable. That's one of "mother's little lies" the plastic industry has been telling you for years to feel better about consumption. Reducing waste is the only way. [1] https://recyclenation.com/2017/04/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ https://recyclenation.com/2017/04/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ [2] https://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-happens-to-electronic-waste https://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-hap...

by imgabe 6y ago

arcticbull 6y ago

[1, 2] does not suggest that recycling of e-waste actually happens. Solve that first, power supply second, then re-enable Bitcoin mining and you've got my vote. Basically, it can't really be economically recycled, and it isn't. It's just thrown in heaps where poor folks in developing nations scrabble through the toxic remains. "Useful metals" is a few grams of gold, tin and copper. The rest is plastics (non-recyclables) and FR4 (epoxy filled fiberglass). Fiberglass is also not recyclable. Your plan amounts to little more than greenwashing. > Recyclers can make money from selling scavenged metal from electronic equipment, says Puckett, but the process to retrieve usable metals is typically extremely toxic. Workers who remove the metals often have no protective equipment and breathe in high levels of toxic chemicals, which are then released into the atmosphere. And most of the countries where the processing takes place -- China, India, Ghana, Pakistan -- do not have regulations in place to protect workers or prevent the primitive recycling operations. Most of electronics is plastic (epoxy is a plastic), and by and large plastic simply isn't recyclable. That's one of "mother's little lies" the plastic industry has been telling you for years to feel better about consumption. Reducing waste is the only way. [1] https://recyclenation.com/2017/04/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ https://recyclenation.com/2017/04/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ [2] https://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-happens-to-electronic-waste https://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-hap...