World first e-waste microfactory launches at UNSW

The word's first micro-factory, created by UNSW Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla and her team, has been launched at the UNSW SMaRT Centre by Gabrielle Upton, N.S.W. Minister for the Environment.

The world’s first microfactory that can transform the components from electronic waste (e-waste) items such as discarded smart phones and laptops into valuable materials for re-use has been launched at UNSW Sydney, with the Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton, in attendance.

Using technology developed following extensive scientific research at UNSW’s Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT Centre), the e-waste microfactory has the potential to reduce the rapidly growing problem of vast amounts of electronic waste causing environmental harm and going into landfill.