A New Zealand Startup Is Using Microbes to Suck Solid Gold Out of E-Waste

Microscopic organisms can extract precious metals from discarded devices

Rina Diane Caballar
OneZero
Published in
6 min readMay 4, 2020

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Photo: Johner Royalty-Free/Getty Images

The world produces 50 million tons of e-waste each year — equivalent to 4,500 Eiffel Towers or 125,000 jumbo jets — from old computers, discarded screens, broken smartphones, and damaged tablets. E-waste is the fastest…

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Rina Diane Caballar
OneZero

Filipina. Freelance writer. Chocoholic. Words @ The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, BBC Travel, and more.