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koukimonster91 t1_izy5072 wrote

Reply to comment by ubermeisters in Recycled gold from SIM cards could help make drugs more sustainable. Researchers have used gold extracted from electronic waste as catalysts for reactions that could be applied to making medicines. by MistWeaver80

tell that to all the recycling company's making money from extracting precious metals out of electronics waste.

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cmack482 t1_j02mh2w wrote

You can absolutely get precious metal from electronic waste. The issue with this story is that the amount you would get off of a SIM card would be significantly less than the cost of a postage stamp for someone to mail it in.

If they magically stumbled on a giant bin of SIM cards, sure it would be worth it. But people go through so few of them that no one has a drawer of them sitting around waiting to be recycled like batteries or plastic bags.

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