Old desk phones from the Bank of England have provided a new source of precious metal like gold through specialist recycling.
Under a new agreement by Bank of England and The Royal Mint (TRM), thousands of decommissioned desk phones from Bank’s offices were sent to The Royal Mint’s Reformation Metals facility in South Wales for recovery.
Reusing equipment is prioritised over recycling, meaning equipment is first assessed to identify resale opportunities, before being wiped and sent to TRM for processing and recycling.
The 3,700 square meter facility can process up to 4,000 tonnes of printed circuit boards found in e-waste annually, recovering gold and other precious metals.
“This work brings together two iconic British institutions – The Royal Mint and The Bank of England – in support of shared sustainability goals. Together, we’re recovering valuable materials for future use and supporting the UK’s circular economy,” said Sean Millard from The Royal Mint.
Vivienne Grafton, Executive Director for Central Operations at The Bank of England added: “Partnering with The Royal Mint to manage the sustainable disposal of our desk phones reflects our commitment to reducing waste and delivering value for money. We’re proud to support this initiative and to contribute to a more sustainable future economy.”
Around 500,000 tonnes of electrical waste passes through UK treatment facilities each year and government data suggests that waste stream could contain roughly one tonne of gold, 20 tonnes of silver and hundreds of kilograms of platinum-group metals.
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