Most older CPUs have gold components on
the circuit boards. Taking the whole board out is the first step. Open up the
case for your computer to access the electronics inside. You'll need a small
screwdriver for this step.
Take out the electronic components. Once
inside, you'll see the mother boards and memory chips. Pull out all the tasty
bits and lay in a bin. The case and other parts are also recyclable. Pack them
up separately for an environmentally responsible disposal.
Stock pile it. A study done by EOEarth
states: "1 metric ton (t) of electronic scrap from personal computers
(PC's) contains more gold than that recovered from 17 t of gold ore". One
computer won't have enough gold to make you rich. Yet, if you begin to collect
abandoned computers, you can save all your gold parts. This will make going
through the process of reverse electro plating it by the recycling center worth
the time and effort.
Separate your pieces. Most computer
recycling centers ask that you separate metals and plastics. Don't just focus
on the gold in your computer. Be sure to recycle the rest of the plastics and
electronics. To keep down clutter, immediately disassemble your old computers
and take all the plastics in for recycling immediately.
Take it in for recycling. You'll see that
your computer has all kinds of shiny metallics in it. Many of these metals are
also recyclable. Taking your PC to a computer recycle center is the easiest way
to retrieve your precious metals. You'll want to find a precious metals
refinery to send your circuit boards and chips to. They will do all the work,
and they'll give you a fair price for the efforts. See our website for more tips of how to recycle gold from electronic waste.
