Author: Kaja Šeruga

Just outside the historic German town of Goslar, a sprawling industrial complex receives an endless stream of discarded electronics. On arrival, this electronic waste is laboriously prepared for recycling. Electrocycling GmbH is one of the largest e-waste recycling facilities in Europe. Every year, it processes up to 80 000 tonnes of electronic waste, which comes in all shapes and forms.Manual dismantlingDespite an impressive array of machinery, more than half of the site’s employees manually prepare the discarded items for recycling. They do this by sorting the incoming waste and removing batteries, which are a fire hazard and a major challenge in e-waste…