To recycle printed circuit boards (PCBs), follow these simple steps such as: gather all needed materials, disassemble the parts, desolder components, separate individual parts, and recycling.
Printed circuit boards, sometimes referred to as printed wiring boards or etched wiring boards are parts of the computers where electronic wirings are connected to each other to serve as conduction pathways. Aside from copper foils, it also contains epoxy, die, fiber glass, and lead components. Treatments are usually added to prevent oxidation of copper. Some of these are non-biodegradable and are harmful when exposed deliberately to the environment. Although these are inexpensive, but as a responsible user, recycling is a must option that helps lessens its harmful effects. Since this approach is not yet that popular, I suggest that you try the following do-it-yourself tips on how to recycle circuit boards namely:
Gather all needed materials
First thing to do is to gather all materials before you proceed to recycling. Basically, you will need the following: PCBs, pliers, soldering iron, and containers.
Disassemble the parts
Remove the part has to be desoldered such as from DVD, computer, camera, clock, and the likes. Once you have disassembled everything, you are now ready to do the first step of recycling, which is desoldering.
Desolder components
Holding the PCB with one hand while, the soldering iron with the other hand, gradually heat the part that has to be melted, so that you can separate the electrical components from the board. Be careful not to touch the heated parts because they are capable of causing skin burns.
Separate individual parts
As soon as you are done with melting, you may now remove the connections and segregate them in their respective containers. One case should hold electrical parts such as sockets, capacitors, resistors, plugs, transistors, and the likes, which are all recyclable. However, dispose of properly those that are not useful to avoid polluting the environment by collecting them on a separate container.
Recycling
You have several options on how to recycle flexible printed circuit boards by converting them into anything as long as it serves some purposes. It can be converted by simply sticking them together to create a strong bond. Below are some of the items made of recycled circuit boards that are available in the market:
* Multi-purpose holder
* Mouse mat
* Address book
* Pencil box
* Tape dispenser
* Clip board
* Ruler
* Door hanger
* Wall clock
* Coaster
* Key ring
* Business card holder
* Pocket organiser
Converting any material into more useful things is one way of saving mother earth. There is no such thing called waste, you just have to be creative to come up with something new, functional, and unique.
For more of flexible printed circuit boards, kindly go to this site: Rigiflex and get more recycling tips.
