May 6 2013
As the traditional mining industry slows down year on year, Green Technology Solutions, Inc. believes that a major shift toward e-waste recycling is the solution to keeping manufacturers worldwide supplied with the commodities they need to create the next wave of electronic innovations.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that some of the world’s biggest miners are slashing outlays and shedding assets in 2013, hit with a triple shock of falling prices, rising costs and waning investor interest. The urban mining industry, by contrast, is less susceptible to such trends thanks to big improvements in recycling collection and separation technologies.
"Unlike traditional mining, urban mining is a sustainable and ultimately beneficial means of commodities production that’s getting easier and more affordable with each passing year,” said GTSO CEO Paul Watson. “Our company is investing time and money in e-waste supplies and infrastructure today so that we’ll be able to capture a major share of the marketplace tomorrow, when urban mining will be rightly seen as a cleaner, more virtuous and more profitable alternative.”
New legislation could help turn that vision into a reality sooner than later. Electronic products have become the fastest-growing portion of the solid waste stream in the U.S., posing a daunting challenge to government agencies that oversee landfills. Lawmakers across the country are beginning to take action. According to the EPA, every one million cell phones recycled, 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver, 33 pounds of palladium and more than 35,000 pounds of copper can be recovered.
Urban mining is key to GTSO’s plans to compete alongside major international corporations striving for sustainable waste solutions, such as Industrial Services of America (NASDAQ: IDSA) and Sims Metal Management Ltd. (NYSE: SMS). Late last year, GTSO acquired the company Global Cell Buyers and soon after rebranded the company as Green Urban Mining to handle its domestic recycling and resale operations.
Source: http://www.gtsoresources.com/