Don’t Let Platinum Scrap End Up in Landfills

Platinum ScrapRecycle Precious MetalsRecycle Refine Platinum
Written By Barry Lenson

“The EPA estimates that, in 2009, US consumers and businesses discarded televisions, computers, cell phones and hard copy peripherals (including printers, scanners, faxes) totaling 2.37 million tons. Approximately 25 percent of these electronics were collected for recycling, with the remainder disposed of primarily in landfills, where the precious metals cannot be recovered.”

-        Source: “Cleaning Up Electronic Waste,” The United States Environmental Protection Agency.

 The statistics we quote above from the EPA date back to 2009. There is no doubt that since then, even more electronic devices that contain platinum are being discarded and end up in landfills.

As a company that recycles platinum scrap of all kinds, we hate to see that happening. With platinum now trading for $1,026 on the London Fix, those figures mean that if 35,000 pounds of platinum group metals get tossed every year (a modest estimate), more than $35 million worth of discarded platinum group metals end up in landfills every year.

At the same time, the demand for platinum is increasing. Platinum is being used in cancer drugs, in industrial catalysts, automotive catalytic converters, electronics, and other applications. Platinum is also being used more than before in the production of plastics and glass fiber panels.

So it is time to turn our attention to collecting and recycling platinum that can be found in sources like these:

  • Cell phones

  • Electronic devices of all kinds

  • Laptops and desktop computers and peripheral devices

  • Industrial and automotive catalytic converters

How Easy Is It to Collect those Materials?

When you trade-in your old cellphone, the company that collects it from you will not toss it. That company has a recycling program of its own, and the platinum will not go to waste.

But the fact remains that right in your community, people are tossing their old phones. Other people are stowing their old devices in their dresser drawers, where they sit unused. If you can set up a recycling program in your area, you can collect those devices.

That explains why a number of charities have set up cellphone recycling programs as a way to raise funds.

It is also worth considering how hospitals, colleges, and other institutions in your area might have stockpiled old computers that contain platinum that is waiting to be reclaimed.

If you look around your community, you will be able to identify sources of that platinum scrap and reclaim it.

And when you do, contact our precious metals recycling experts at 800-426-2344. We are here to tell you how easy it is to test that scrap and reclaim its considerable value.

Let’s not let platinum get tossed. Let’s take action to reclaim it . . . .and profit from its value.

Barry Lenson
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