These devices are so tiny that presumably this is also a tiny part of IC fabrication. I'm not saying there is none, just trying get an idea of how much of a pr

These devices are so tiny that presumably this is also a tiny part of IC fabrication. I'm not saying there is none, just trying get an idea of how much of a problem this really is. We also need to consider what impact any alternative solution would have. What struck me from the description of the system was that it seems that no electronics is really needed at all, a unique QR or barcode would be just as good because the back end system records the use. But that would require the installation of optical readers in a system that might not have them but does already have NFC readers. Adding those readers would add a considerable amount of e-waste too.