That’s just how electronics recycling is, though. The amount of labor it would take to save all those SMT and BGA components is ridiculous and, honestly, is a pretty specialized skill even if it is easy to learn. The logistics of scale really makes it unreasonable, especially when simpler components can be had for literal pennies. There’s a point where the material cost of the copper is worth more than the labor it takes to do anything else with the board, and it happens a lot sooner than you think.
That’s just how electronics recycling is, though. The amount of labor it would take to save all those SMT and BGA components is ridiculous and, honestly, is a pretty specialized skill even if it is easy to learn. The logistics of scale really makes it unreasonable, especially when simpler components can be had for literal pennies. There’s a point where the material cost of the copper is worth more than the labor it takes to do anything else with the board, and it happens a lot sooner than you think.
I think when the economics of destroying a thing is better than reusing a thing, we should maybe have some sort of incentives toward reuse.
I get that the logistics of setting up what’s basically a secondary supply chain is difficult, but I’ve got to believe it would be for the better.