Does anyone know what *actually* happens to all the computer and other Electronics waste that ends up at Sorpa.

I’ve been casually asking the workers there for years when I go, they always answer “it gets recycled” but if I try to press for specifics (where, how, in Iceland or abroad?) they usually admit they don’t actually know. Does **anyone** really know.

It bugs me we spend so much importing this stuff and paying tax only to see most of it (still very usable equipment/parts) just tossed away.

I wish we could do something like [freegeek](https://www.freegeek.org/) here instead, upcycle as much of it as possible and teach people at the same time.

Feel free to PM, if you work there and are worried about privacy.

5 comments

  2. My guess is that it´s sold (or shipped) to Europe and than shipped to some 3rd world country. Fjölsmiðjan is the only one going through some of E-waste and reusing it, other than that there is not really money in it to do something with it.

  4. I was working at a warehouse for the importers of the Playstation a few years back. They had loads of unsold PS3 and PS2 in the warehouse. It was enough to fill a medium sized truck.

    The warehouse was not allowed to give them away so all of the Playstations went to the trash. There were games, computers, joysticks all of the extras you could want.

    I remember watching them taking it in for disposal and thinking how fucking stupid that was. So wasteful, shameful to think that our economy functions like that in some cases.

  5. I do know most electronics are valuable due to the amount of salvageable metals within them, like copper, silver and gold, as well as others i fail to remember.
    Not sure how eco friendly the process is though

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