EwasteITG 1744613094964

This one device in your home has more gold than a mine. Seriously

Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh

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Hidden Gold

That old phone in your drawer? It could contain 22-carat gold—most of which ends up buried in landfills every year.

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Digital Ore

E-waste holds more gold per ton than mined rock. Up to 400 grams per ton—yet 80% of global e-waste remains unrecycled.

mercuryITG 1744613589604

Toxic Tradeoff

Traditional gold recovery uses mercury or cyanide—methods that poison ecosystems while chasing precious metal.

Phone circutsITG 1744613671876

Protein Sponge

ETH Zurich scientists found a cleaner way: a sponge made from cheese industry waste traps gold ions from dissolved electronics.

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Cheese to Chips

The sponge is made from whey protein fibrils, turning dairy leftovers into a high-tech tool for sustainable mining.

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Heat to Gold

Once captured, gold is heated into 22-carat nuggets. Twenty circuit boards can yield nearly half a gram of pure gold.

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Aerogel Alchemy

This spongey, gold-loaded aerogel could shift how the world views “waste” — it’s not garbage, it’s a resource mine.

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Circular Future

Combined with other recovery methods, this tech could lead to smarter, more sustainable electronics recycling worldwide.

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Trash to Treasure

This eco-breakthrough is more than a novelty—it redefines e-waste as a goldmine and a path to cleaner tech practices.