Besides the impact it had on our project, we never imagined that going to an e-waste recycling plant would have such an impact on ourselves. It served as a harsh reminder of the reality we are living every day. We talked with Emmanuel de los Santos and Jesús Lozano, General Manager and Production Manager of CVR, who opened up our eyes to the whole picture of the e-waste pollution problem.

First, they explained how the plants works and gave us a tour around the facilities. We shared with them the idea of our project and they gave us feedback on how to improve it in order to make it economically feasible; they also told us that, if our project proved to be an efficient way to recover metals from e-waste, we could discuss the idea of implementing our technology in the future.

Then, we had the opportunity to discuss the current situation regarding electronics recycling. We weren’t aware of the complexity of this whole issue, and all the economic interests and implications involved in it. They emphasized that the real problem lies in the unrestrained production of electronics and the irresponsibility of companies that sell these devices. They also considered of great importance to implement efficient laws and regulations on e-waste production and disposal, especially here in Mexico. It is a common malpractice that people choose to sell their e-waste, but little is known that those residues will be burned or exported to other countries. It is clear that lucrative interests overcome the responsibility of paying a certified company to properly dispose e-waste.

At the end of the visit we were heartbroken at the disappointing reality we are living in right now, where it is more important to have profits than to secure the future of our planet and, with it, the future of all the living organisms that inhabit it. That said, passion was born within every team member. We had just been given the inspiration to make an absolute change in the way electronic scrap is being dumped.

We recorded an interview with Jesús Lozano, where he told us about the history of the company, gave us insights on the recycling culture in Mexico and gave us his opinion on our project. You can see the full transcript here:

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: What inspired you to found the company CVR? CVR: Well, doctors founded CVR because they were aware of the environmental problem and health issues and that’s why they decided to start this business.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: Are they from Monterrey? CVR: Yes, they are.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: Why do you think there isn’t a recycling culture of electronic waste as from other polluting products? CVR: There are too many entry barriers, a lot of money and economic support is needed, and you have to be very stubborn, because if you don’t have legal support from the authorities it’ll be very difficult.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: Do you know how many tons of garbage are annually produced in our state? CVR: Normal trash is one kg per day per person. Taking in count that we are talking about electronic waste, a person produces 8kg per year. Do the math and you’ll find that Mexico produces around 900 thousand to a thousand kilotons of electronic waste in the year.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: As a company, what actions have you taken to encourage the community to recycle electronic waste? CVR: Numerous campaigns with the city hall and many other companies.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: After you went through the process of separating electronics from plastics, what do you do with the waste? CVR: Okay. We separate by components and once an interesting amount accumulates, they are crushed until we reach a manageable size to separate the metal components and the physical separation is made and a referral is sought for each fraction to be recycled.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: And how many kilograms of metal can be obtained for every ton of electronic waste? CVR: Well look, if you're talking about iron itself, a lot of it, about 20% is iron. The following metal is copper, about 2% of the weight of electronics is copper.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: What are the problems that the company has faced within the processing of electronic waste? CVR: The problem is that you don’t know what will be in it, that’s why the mix makes inefficient the process model. The difference between something recyclable and trash is that the trash is choppy and scrambled, and the recycled stuff is valuable because it’s separated.

iGEM Tec-Monterrey: And finally, after us having told you a brief summary of our project, would you be interested in using synthetic biology for a better treatment of electronic waste in your company? I mean, do you believed that the option we are proposing would be a feasible treatment for electronic waste? CVR: We would have to see, if it is economically viable we would be extremely interested. And, first you have to see if your project works, and if it works… Is it profitable or not? If your answer is positive to both questions, then it can be done.