METHODS FOR RECYCLING AND UPCYCLING CONSUMER ELECTRONICS WITH PLASTICS AND INTEGRATED BATTERIES
A system for initiating a recycling program of consumer electronic devices, wherein the system includes a collection device configured to collect a plurality of consumer electronic devices from users, a processing unit located within a permitted facility, communicatively connected to the collection device, wherein the processing unit is configured to disassemble each consumer electronic device of the plurality of consumer electronic devices into a plurality of base components through an electronic device disassembling process, wherein the plurality of base components includes a plurality of plastic components and at least a battery component, process the plurality of base components, wherein processing the plurality of base components includes disintegrating the plurality of plastic components into a plurality of granules and decomposing the at least one battery component into a plurality of electrochemical materials, and generate a recycled output using the processed plurality of base components.
1 - 20 . (canceled)
21 . A method of initiating a recycling program of consumer electronic devices, wherein the method comprises:
collecting, using a collection device, a plurality of consumer electronic devices from users;
disassembling, at a processing unit within a permitted facility, each consumer electronic device of the plurality of consumer electronic devices into a plurality of base components through an electronic device disassembling process, wherein:
the plurality of base components comprises:
a plurality of plastic components; and
at least one battery component;
processing, at the processing unit, the plurality of base components, wherein processing comprises cleaning the plurality of base components using at least a thermal cleaning technique; and
generating, at the processing unit, a recycled output using the processed plurality of base components.
22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein processing the plurality of base components further comprises:
disintegrating the plurality of plastic components into a plurality of granules; and
decomposing the at least one battery component into a plurality of electrochemical materials.
23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein disintegrating the plurality of plastic components into a plurality of granules further comprises, sorting the plurality of base components based on melting points prior to disintegration.
24 . The method of claim 21 , wherein cleaning the plurality of base components further comprises implementing ultrasonic cleaning.
25 . The method of claim 21 , wherein disassembling each consumer electronic device of the plurality of consumer electronic devices comprises:
receiving at least one consumer electronic device from the plurality of consumer electronic devices;
removing a device flat of the received at least one consumer electronic device;
removing the at least one battery component from the consumer electronic device; and
sorting the disconnected at least one battery component with a plurality of discarded electronic components.
26 . The method of claim 25 , wherein removing the device flat of the received the at least one consumer electronic device comprises squeezing adjacent device flats using a set of pre-selected disassembly tools at a pre-determined distance from the device flat until the device flat separates from adjacent device flats.
27 . The method of claim 25 , wherein removing the at least one battery component from the consumer electronic device comprises disconnecting a plurality of electronic conductors connected between the at least one battery component and the plurality of base components.
28 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the recycled output comprises a reduced carbon footprint resulting from the recycling process.
29 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the recycled output comprises a plurality of building materials.
30 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the collection device further comprises a plurality of labels affixed to external surfaces of the collection device, wherein the plurality of labels comprises a machine-readable code.
31 . A system for initiating a recycling program of consumer electronic devices, wherein the system comprises:
a collection device configured to collect a plurality of consumer electronic devices from users;
a processing unit located within a permitted facility, communicatively connected to the collection device, wherein the processing unit is configured to:
disassemble each consumer electronic device of the plurality of consumer electronic devices into a plurality of base components through an electronic device disassembling process, wherein:
the plurality of base components comprises:
a plurality of plastic components; and
at least one battery component;
process the plurality of base components, wherein processing comprises cleaning the plurality of base components using at least a thermal cleaning technique; and
generate a recycled output using the processed plurality of base components.
32 . The system of claim 31 , wherein processing the plurality of base components further comprises:
disintegrating the plurality of plastic components into a plurality of granules; and
decomposing the at least one battery component into a plurality of electrochemical materials.
33 . The system of claim 32 , wherein disintegrating the plurality of plastic components into a plurality of granules further comprises, sorting the plurality of base components based on melting points prior to disintegration.
34 . The system of claim 31 , wherein cleaning the plurality of base components further comprises implementing ultrasonic cleaning.
35 . The system of claim 31 , wherein disassembling each consumer electronic device of the plurality of consumer electronic devices comprises:
receiving at least one consumer electronic device from the plurality of consumer electronic devices;
removing a device flat of the received at least one consumer electronic device;
removing the at least one battery component from the consumer electronic device; and
sorting the disconnected at least one battery component with a plurality of discarded electronic components.
36 . The system of claim 35 , wherein removing the device flat of the received the at least one consumer electronic device comprises squeezing adjacent device flats using a set of pre-selected disassembly tools at a pre-determined distance from the device flat until the device flat separates from adjacent device flats.
37 . The system of claim 35 , wherein removing the at least one battery component from the consumer electronic device comprises disconnecting a plurality of electronic conductors connected between the at least one battery component and the plurality of base components.
38 . The system of claim 31 , wherein the recycled output comprises a reduced carbon footprint resulting from the recycling process.
39 . The system of claim 31 , wherein the recycled output comprises a plurality of building materials.
40 . The system of claim 31 , wherein the collection device further comprises a plurality of labels affixed to external surfaces of the collection device, wherein the plurality of labels comprises a machine-readable code.