Recycling Electronic Gadgets for their

Rare Earth Metals

Rare Earth Metals

There are 17 rare earth metals that make the high-tech gadgets in our lives possible.

Why Recycle Rare Earth Metals?

We can save a lot of money by recycling the rare earth metals inside our old

gadgets. Mining metals from underground is expensive, but taking apart old gadgets

and reusing the metals is easier and cheaper.

Here are 4 of the most important rare earth metals.

Lanthanum

About 10 pounds of Lanthanum is used in each battery for hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius.

Europium

Europium is an important metal used to create bright white LED lights.

Erbium

Erbium is used to make lasers and super-fast fiber optics that speed up the information super-highway.

Neodymium

Neodymium is used to make gadgets smaller. It is also used to make tiny magnets that allow large

machines to be redesigned into smaller ones.

Cell phones, inkjet cartridges, laptop computers & netbooks, iPads & tablets, iPods & MP3 players, digital SLR cameras and lenses, digital cameras & camcorders, handheld game systems, game consoles (Xbox, Wii, PS3), range finders & sky caddies, GPS devices & radar detectors, ebook readers, mobile hotspots and MiFi devices, 4G USB air cards and graphing calculators (no cords or cables, please). Last year, this fundraised raised over $800 for Green Team efforts and CREF grants

You can recycle your electronic gadgets at your school until March 9th.

We can reuse the rare earth metals that are in them and raise money for

Council Rock Education Foundation at the same time!

The collection box is in located in the library. Let’s fill it up by

March 9th!!

For more information on rare earth metals visit

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/news/important-rare-earth-elements#slide-4