I am now, have been and will be wrong

Usatoday on how hard it is to really do electronic waste recycling.

The line “Some recyclers, particularly those in developing nations, pick out useful parts by hand.” hides a lot more than the author believes.

There’s the classic, burn the plastic, pick out the metal, and let the rest run into the river.

Or, use prison labor and sledge hammers to smash things into bits, and pick out what’s there. Cost of using prison labor is much less than even slavelabor.

What's said, and imagined is usually far from the ideal, or what we would want to have happen.

And on letting heavy metals fall through the screen.

What about the lead, mercury, and other known toxic materials in electronics?

Not all the metals in electronics are magnetic, nor can all of them be considered safe. Toxic waste is a big part of what these guys produce. How to handle it, and be profitable is the challenge.