That junk drawer packed with old phones, tangled chargers, and dead laptops? It might be more valuable than you think. Hidden inside those dusty devices are tiny amounts of gold—yes, real gold—used in electronics for its unmatched conductivity and resistance to corrosion. Researchers estimate there’s up to 900 milligrams of gold per kilogram of circuit board.
Until now, extracting that gold often required toxic chemicals like mercury or cyanide, which pose serious health and environmental risks. However, scientists at Flinders University in Australia have discovered a more effective method. In a breakthrough published in Nature Sustainability, the team utilized a common disinfectant, trichloroisocyanuric acid, often found in pool treatments, and combined it with salt water to safely leach gold from electronic waste.
From there, they developed a unique sulfur-based polymer to latch onto the dissolved gold, separating it from other metals. Even better? The polymer breaks down afterward, leaving behind pure gold ready to be reused, without the pollution-heavy footprint of traditional gold recovery.
This method is not only effective on e-waste but also on ore and laboratory waste, providing a more eco-friendly option for gold recovery. With e-waste piling up—amounting to 62 million tons globally in 2022 alone—this process could revolutionize how we handle our old technology.
While we wait for this green method to scale up, you can still recycle responsibly. Certified e-waste centers, local scrap yards, and nonprofits like Goodwill offer options to recycle old electronics—and in some cases, pay for them.
So before you toss that ancient phone, consider this: it might be more treasure than trash.