GLOSSARY OF ELECTRONICS RECYCLING INDUSTRY TERMS

 

 

ABS.  Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene.  An engineered polymer used in electronics.

Adhesives.  Precious metals alloys with both adhesive and conductive properties. Sometimes contain polymer resins.

Assay.  Chemical analysis to determine the presence and concentration of elements in a sample.

Asset Management.  Services guiding use and retirement through the life of electronic equipment.  Includes tracking, inventory, recordkeeping, storage, maintenance, updating, and reuse.

Asset Recovery.  Electronics resellers or reclaimers bid on surplus property generated by companies, government agencies and institutions.

Audio, Image and Video Devices. Includes personal/portable and home/non-portable, devices that can transmit, record or play back an image, audio or video using a variety of technologies including mechanical, optical, and digital.  Also Home theater in a Box (HTB)—bundled combinations of the above.  Also Aftermarket Vehicle devices for installation in motor vehicles aftermarket.

Baler.  An industrial baler is equipment used to compress and package materials for shipping. In the case of electronics recycling, balers are often used for handling scrap plastics.

BAN Pledge.  See Basel Action Network

Barium Glass.  Viscous glass used in a cathode ray tube's panel or front plate. Contains barium oxide (up to 14 percent) and strontium oxide (up to 12 percent).

Basel Action Network (BAN).  A non-government organization that advocates the prohibition of the export of “hazardous waste” (as defined by the Basel Convention – above) from OECD to non-OECD countries.

 

Basel Convention.  A multilateral agreement negotiated under the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) that regulates the trade of hazardous waste. Currently, more than 160 countries are party to the convention, which entered into force in 1992. The U.S. has signed, but not ratified, the Convention.

 

Battery.  Device that stores electricity.  Below is a list of battery scrap types quoted on ScrapIndex.com :

• Alkaline battery scrap—common sorted carbon/zinc “flashlight” batteries including types D, C, AA, AAA, etc.
• Dry cell battery scrap
• Edison battery scrap
• Gold-plated button battery scrap— common round button style batteries plated with gold and commonly used in hearing aids & wrist watches
• Gell cell battery scrap— sorted gell filled batteries, and may include common gell cell motorcycle batteries 12 & 24 volt commercial emergency back-up lighting batteries.
• Lithium button battery scrap— common round button style batteries containing lithium.
• Lithium Ion battery scrap—
• Mixed lithium content battery scrap— assorted batteries that contain lithium or lithium alloys.
• Mercury/ silver oxide battery scrap— contain mercury and silver oxide. An analysis of the content should be provided.
• Mixed mercury content battery scrap— may contain a variety of scrap batteries that contain mercury and silver oxide. An analysis of the content should be provided.
• Mixed nickel content battery scrap— assorted sizes of common household Nickel/Cadmium Batteries and Nickel/Metal Hydride, sorted to be free of common alkaline batteries. May include spent rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries. May not include wet cell batteries.
• Nickel button battery scrap— round button style batteries commonly used in hearing aids & wrist watches
•  Dry cell NiCd battery scrap— common household sorted Nickel/Cadmium Batteries, sorted to be free of common alkaline batteries. May include spent rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries. May not include wet cell batteries.
• Nickel/metal hydride battery scrap— household sorted Nickel/Metal Hydride Batteries, sorted to be free of common alkaline batteries. May include spent recharge able or non-rechargeable batteries. May not include wet cell batteries.
• Wet cell NiCd battery scrap— whole wet cell Nickel/Cadmium Batteries. Must be packaged to the buyers specification

Bid. Terms and conditions for submitted for evaluation and consideration by the Generator.  The most attractive (lowest) terms and conditions a Processor will offer.

Brazing Alloys.  See Solder.

Brokering.  The buying and selling of units, components or scrap.  A broker typically does not physically accept and store the material but rather buys the units or components for immediate resale.

Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs).  Chemicals used in plastics and other products to reduce potential for burning.  Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are used in some electronics plastics.

Bullion.  Precious metal cast into the form of a bar or ingot.

Bullion bar.  Precious metal, generally scrap, melted to render it homogeneous for sampling.

Burnables.  Items containing precious metals that are rendered homogeneous for sampling by incineration and milling rather than melting.  Include polishings, grindings, filters/dust bags, bag house and filter dust and dust collectors.  Rags, wipes, gloves, mop heads.

CD-ROM.  Device using a laser beam to read data from indentations and flat layers on a compact disc. 

Capacitor.  A passive electronic component that stores energy.  When fabricated onto integrated circuit chips, capacitors help maintain the contents of memory. In scrap, must generally be primarily tantalum.

Cards.  Printed circuit boards.

Case.  The shell surrounding and holding the parts of a computer.  Chassis.

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT).  The tube in conventional televisions and computer monitors. A vacuum or picture tube device that converts an electronic signal into a visual image.

 

Cellular Devices and Pagers.  Handheld communication device using cellular networks to transmit voice or data signals.  Includes cell-enabled Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).

Central Processing Unit (CPU).  A processing device, including a case and all its contents, such as the primary printed circuit board, additional printed circuit boards, one or more disc drives, interior wiring and a power cord. 

Certification.   Registration of a facility that has passed a third party audit by an accredited certifying body to a recognized standard. In the case of the electronics recycling industry, there are currently 4 primary certifications:

• ISO 14001.  A generic international standard for Environmental Management Systems/EMS – not industry specific.
• “R2” (Responsible Recycling Practices)  A consensus standard developed to specifically address requirements specific to electronics recycling.
• “R2/RIOS”  A formal certification program for electronics recyclers that couples “R2” with the Recycling Industry Operating Standard (RIOS) for Environmental, Health, Safety and Quality Management Systems for the recycling industry.
• e-Stewards  a formal certification program for electronics recyclers that couples the e-Stewards requirements for electronics recyclers with the EMS requirements of ISO 14001.

Certified Destruction.  An electronics recycling system in which the generator of an item receives assurance, such as in the form of a certificate, that the item has been processed to render it inoperable.  Often this means shredding the item.  Purpose is to protect intellectual property.

Chassis.  See case.

Chip.  See microchip.

Chipset.  A number of integrated circuits designed to perform one or more related functions.

Circuit Board.  Printed wiring boards containing various electronic components and connectors..  A computer consists of one or more boards (often called cards).  Synonymous with printed circuit board (PCB).  Circuit boards consist of a plastic sheet and copper sheet in which connections between electronic devices have been created by the use of a photo-resist mask and acid etching.

Collector.  A company which buys electronics for reuse or for processing as scrap into its constituent materials.

 

Computers, Desktop.  Computers designed to be used on a work surface and require standard AC power plug for a primary source of power.

 

Computers, Portable.  Computer that contains a CPU and operates using a self-contained battery or external AC/DC adaptor.

 

Commodity.  Materials from either original sources (e.g., ore) or derived from recycling and recovery processes (e.g., smelting) that can be used in manufacturing processes. 

 

Components.  Electronic parts – such as integrated circuits, transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc.

 

Connectors.  Contacts and similar components to provide conductivity between boards and parts.  Often contain precious metals. 

 

Connectors, External.  In scrap, sorted connectors free of or trimmed from wire.

 

Consolidation Facility.  A facility where used electronics from multiple collection sites are temporarily stored before shipment to a recycling, reuse, or processing facility.

 

Control Systems.  Industrial electronics systems used to control tools, processes and facilities – typically including computers, sensors, and monitoring equipment.

 

Copper-Based Bullion.  A bullion bar in which copper is used as a “collector” to dilute content of other metals and to make the bar homogeneous for sampling.

 

Copper, No. 1 and No. 2.  Generally, No. 1 copper consists of copper clippings, punchings and so on that are clean and unalloyed, whereas the lesser-priced No. 2 should have a minimum 94-percent copper content. These items are known as "candy" and "cliff" when traded internationally by wire.

Copper Yoke.  See yoke.

Crucibles.  Receptacles in which to melt metal for upgrading or assay determination.  Recycled to capture embedded metals.

Cullet.  Glass recovered in the recycling of cathode ray tubes (CRTs), when it is cleaned and crushed is called “cullet” and can then be remelted into new glass for industrial use (I.e., “glass-to-glass” recycling).

Data Removal.  Removing data from a computer hard drive.

Data Security Services.  Consulting and implementation regarding identity assurance, access control, encryption, compliance, information management and fraud protection – including data destruction.

Daughterboard.  A circuit board that plugs into and extends the circuitry of another circuit board, which may be the computer's main board (see motherboard).

Degauss.  A process used to erase the data from hard drives by demagnetizing them.

Deman.  Short for demanufacturing.

Demanufacturing.  The disassembly of an electronics device to capture resellable parts and recyclable materials..

DfE.  Design for the environment; designing products to reduce their environmental impact.

Display Devices.  Displays an image using a variety of technologies including CRT, LCD, plasma and rear-projection.  Excludes products where the display is not the primary function.

DfR.  Design for recycling; a subset of DfE to facilitate the recycling process.

Diagnostic Testing.  Testing to determine what parts of electronic equipment work.

Dumb Terminal.  See terminal.

Dynamic-Random-Access Memory Chips (DRAM).  Chips which hold electronic data temporarily and are vital components of computers.

EIA.  Electronic Industries Alliance (Arlington, Virginia), an alliance of six trade groups.

Electron Gun.  Device used to project an image inside a cathode ray tube.  Color monitors typically have three guns (red, green and blue and recently, yellow).

Electronic Equipment.  Including – but not limited to:

• Computers and peripheral equipment – central processing units (CPU’s), monitors, printers, keyboards, scanners, storage devices, servers, networking systems;
• Office Equipment -  fax machines, copiers, imaging systems, printing systems, telephones and telecommunications equipment
• Consumer electronics – televisions, video cassette recorders, camcorders, digital cameras, control boxes, stereo systems, compact disc players, radios, cell phones, pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), calculators, organizers, and game systems.
• Industrial/Commercial equipment – control systems, test, measurement, workstations, medical, financial, security, navigation, entertainment, automotive, aerospace, military.

 

Electronics Recyclers.  Provide processing and services that include: de-manufacturing, materials and parts recovery, materials processing, refurbishing, repair, resale, asset management and data security services.

 

Electronics Scrap.  In various forms and from different sources, e.g.: 

• Whole, non-working electronics equipment (see “electronics equipment”).
• From de-manufactured equipment – includes Printed Circuit Boards, Connectors & Connector Parts, Components – including integrated circuits as well as discrete devices.
• From manufacturing processes – includes Pastes/Powders, Crucibles & Slags, Sputtering targets, Solutions, Scrap metals, Solders, Sweeps.

 

EMS.  See Environmental Management System

End of life.  When a product's value to the user, generally the first user, has been expended and the product is available for reuse, recycling or disposal.

Erasure.  Deleting the data on hard drives or other computer storage devices. There are several techniques that can be used including software overwrite, firmware execution (i.e., Secure Erase), or degaussing (demagnetization).

Environmental Management System (EMS).  Standardized methods by which a facility can reduce its environmental impact.

Environmentally Sound Management (ESM):  ESM standards establish specific criteria and performance standards that electronics recyclers must meet. Generally, ESM standards address.

E-scrap.  (See Electronics scrap).

ESM.  See Environmentally Sound Management

E-waste.  Electronics discards.

Ferrous metal.  Metal composed predominantly of iron, e.g., steel.

 

Fineness.  Purity of precious metals described in parts per thousand. A silver bar of a            fineness of .999 contains 999 parts of silver and one part of something else.

 

Fine Weight.  Weight of elemental metal contained in a bar, either in pure form or in           combination with other elements.

 

Finger Trimmings.  Gold-plated male” cookout board connections, trimmed to remove excess non-gold content.

 

Fire Assay. A quantitative analysis method primarily for precious metals.

 

Fixing.  In the London Bullion Market, the price at which dealers transact business in gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

 

Flat Panel.  A TV or computer monitor using a flat panel display technology (e.g., “plasma”, Liquid Crystal Display/LCD) – as opposed to a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT).

Flash Memory Chips.  Chips commonly used in consumer products such as cellphones.

Floppy disk drive.  A mechanism that enables a computer to read and write information on floppy disks.

Forward Contract: A cash market transaction of a commodity at some future time.

Frit.  The soldering band that connects the plate glass to the funnel glass in a cathode ray tube.

Funnel Glass.  The conically shaped glass in a cathode ray tube.  Contains up to 25 percent lead oxide.

Gaylord.  A pallet-sized box in which electronic scrap is shipped.

Generator.  Creates scrap resulting from a manufacturing process.  In commercial context, a person with scrap available for refining.

 

Grab sample.  A sample taken at random, generally not expected to be representative to any reliable degree of precision.

Grade.  Ratio of payable metal(s) that define(s) the payable metal contained in a refining lot.

Hard Disk.  See hard drive.

Hard Drive.  A unit that stores and provides access to data on an electromagnetically charged surface or set of surfaces.  Hard drive and hard disk are used interchangeably, although hard drive refers to the mechanical aspects of the unit while hard disk refers to data storage.

Hazardous Materials.  Materials posing risk and requiring special handling and regulatory compliance due to toxicity or adverse health, safety, or environmental effects if processed or transported without adequate safeguards. Include items containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, lead (e.g., CRT glass), batteries. 

 

High Grade. In electr5onics scrap:  circuit board scrap containing gold-plated populated or unpopulated boards. In precious metals processing:  metals generally above 800 fine, sweeps above 200 fine. 

 

HIPAA.  The U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, includes provisions for the protection of private information in health records.

HIPS.  High-impact polystyrene.  An engineered polymer used in some electronics.

Historic Electronic Waste.  Used electronic equipment that becomes electronic waste prior to the effective date of an electronics recycling law or regulation.

 

Image, Audio and Video Devices. Includes personal/portable and home/non-portable, devices that can transmit, record or play back an image, audio or video using a variety of technologies including mechanical, optical, and digital.  Also Home theater in a Box (HTB)—bundled combinations of the above.  Also Aftermarket Vehicle devices for installation in motor vehicles aftermarket.

 

Imaging System.  Items such as security cameras, industrial inspection devices.

 

Impurities.  Material in a refining lot whose presence is deleterious or undesirable.

Integrated Circuit (IC).  A semiconductor wafer on which thousands or millions of tiny resistors, capacitors and transistors are fabricated.  An integrated circuit can function as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, counter, computer memory or microprocessor.  Also called a microchip or chip. 

Integrated Circuits, mixed scrap.  Assorted integrated circuit chips, whole or sheardd, free of other types of components.  May include ceramic or bakolite covered chips.

 

Integrated Circuits, sorted scrap.  Homogeneous lot of integrated circuits.

ISRI.  Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries: The trade association for the major recycling industries – including electronics as well as metals, plastics, paper and tires.

IT Asset Disposition (ITAD).  Information Technology Asset Disposition (ITAD) is the process of redeploying or disposing of assets (such as computers) at the end of their initial use.

Logistics. The management of materials flow typically involving transportation and storage services.

Loose Scrap.  Scrap that is not packaged.  E.g., loaded into a container without packaging into a box or gaylord.

Magnetic Field Media Waste:  Generally refers to magnetic tapes, floppy discs, reel tape, etc., which must be erased by degaussing, destruction, etc.

Mainboard.  See motherboard.

Manufacturers Consortium.  A recent development in the electronics recycling industry where groups of manufacturers collaborate/partner to organize product take-back programs across states, regions or nationally.

 

Materials of Concern.  Materials that have been identified as hazardous, toxic or potentially hazardous that require special treatment and handling to avoid environmental, health or safety exposures.

 

Metal Group:

• Ferrous.  Iron-based – e.g., steel
• Non-Ferrous:  Non-iron-based – e.g., copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, nickel
• Precious:  Including gold, silver, platinum, palladium (also referred to as Noble Metals)

 

Metal Loan.  Metal advanced and returned or paid for in kind.

Metal Retention.  Metal contractually kept by the processor as partial compensation for refining services. The difference between metal contained and metal payable.

Microchip.  Tiny modules that store computer memory or provide logic circuitry for microprocessors and are commonly called chips.  

Microprocessor.  An integrated circuit fabricated on a small piece of silicon and containing several elements of the central processing unit. 

Minimum Deduction. The minimum amount of each metal in a refining lot that a metal processor will retain to process a refining lot, irrespective of the value of the metal contained.

Minimum Invoice Charge or Minimum Lot Charge.  The total minimum charges a processor will bill to handle a refining lot, irrespective of the value of the metals contained. Charges include items such as treatment charge, refining charge and assay charge but do not include metal retained.

Minimum Lot Size.  The smallest lot a Processor will accept withut a a minimum lot charge.

Minimum Return.  Amount of metal in a refining lot beneath which no metal is  returned or paid for. 

Minor Metals.  e.g., antimony, bismuth, germanium indium, molybdenum used for special electronics applications.

Modem.  A computer device that converts digital signals to the modulated analog signals required for transmission over a telephone line, and vice versa.

Monitor.  A display device containing a cathode ray tube or flat panel display, a case, interior wires, circuitry, a cable to the CPU and a power cord.  Also called a video display unit (VDU).

Motherboard.  A computer's main circuit board, often entailing the microprocessor, other coprocessors, memory, a basic input-output system, expansion slot and interconnecting circuitry (also see daughterboard).  A motherboard is also called a system board or a mainboard.

Multiprocessor.  A computer containing more than one central processing unit (CPU).

NAID.  National Association for Information Destruction

NARI.  A predecessor organization to ISRI. See  ISRI

NEPSI.  The National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative.

Networking Systems.  Communications equipment that facilitates the interconnection and switching functions for complex networks of computers and telecommunications systems.

Non-Ferrous Metal.  Metals with no or little iron content, e.g. copper, aluminum, lead, tin, zinc.

OEM.  Original equipment manufacturer.          

Orphan Scrap.  Obsolete electronics previously manufactured by or bearing the brand name of a company which is no longer in business.

 

Overwrite.  Software program routines that are used to erase data from hard drives and other data storage devices by writing random data over the existing data.

Panel Glass.  The front plate of a CRT on which the image appears.

Pastes.  Precious metals pastes used as a film in printing circuits – e.g., boards, substrates..

 

Payable metal.  Percentages of contained metal for which the processor’s terms and   conditions call for compensation by cash, credit or return of metal.

 

PCB.  See Circuit Board

Peripherals.  Auxiliary equipment to a computer, such as computer mice, keyboards, printers, etc. added or attached to a computer to expand its functionality.

Phosphor.  An electro-fluorescent material used to coat the inside of the screen in a cathode ray tube and which glows when struck by electrons. 

Pool Account.  Unallocated metal measured in weight and held for a customer by a refiner, dealer or financial institution.

Populated Circuit Boards: Circuit board containing chips and other plug-in devices.  A fully populated circuit boards has all the devices it can hold.

Postings.  Refining lots submitted by Generators to obtain terms and conditions from a Processor.

Powders.  Chemically-produced metallic particles, often precious metals, used in sintering.

Precious metals.  Gold, silver, platinum-group metals.  Also known as noble metals.

Price.  The market value of metals in a refining lot.  For instance, the price as quoted daily on the “ London Fixing.”  For metals with two fixings, the Second Fix generally governs. For rhodium and ruthenium, the Johnson Matthey Daily Base is often used.  For copper, the London Metal Exchange or New York Mercantile Exchange cash settlement price. 

Printed Circuit Board (PCB).  See circuit board.

Printing, Copying and Multi-function Devices.  Devices using all printing technologies, designed to reside on a work surface and that can print on me3dia of up to 48” wide.  Also Floor-standing copying and printing devices.

Processor.  See microprocessor.

Processor.  Prepares scrap to meet steel mill, non-ferrous smelter or precious metals refiner requirements,   A facility that upgrades material to prepare it for sampling. A   precious metals dealer, processor or refiner offering processing or refining services. 

Product Stewardship.  An environmental management strategy assigning responsibility for a product's environmental impact through all stages of the product’s life cycle to those who design, produce, sell or use it.

PWB.  Printed wiring boards.

Quotation.  An indication of market levels, not necessarily a bid or offer.

Reclaimer.  General term for firms processing electronic scrap.

Redeployment.  The consolidation, testing and repair of usable electronics for reuse within the originating firm, institution or government agency.

Recovery.  Extraction of metal values from scrap.

 

Recycler.  See Electronics recycler. 

Refiner.  Facility in which impurities are removed and metals are purified chemically to elemental form.

Refining charge. Charge by the Processor based on the amount of payable metal(s) in a refining lot.

Refining lot. Precious metal bearing materials consolidated as a single batch to retain   integrity throughout processing or refining.

Refurbish.  Renew, replace parts, repackage, update electronics equipment for reuse.

Remanufacturing.  The testing, repair or upgrading of obsolete electronics for resale.  Some remanufacturers build whole units from individual recovered components (hard drives, mother boards, etc.).

Representation.  Attendance, at a refinery or processing facility, by a generator’s agent, to witness weighing, processing and sampling of a refining lot.

 

Reserve Sample. Sample retained for retesting or umpire analysis.

 

Residue.  That which remains after processing, e.g. ash after burning.

Resistor.  An electrical component that regulates or limits the flow of electrical current in an electronic circuit. 

Returnable Metal.  Metal from a refining lot owed by the Processor to the Generator.

 

Reverse Logistics. Return of an obsolete item to the producer through the original distribution system, which may include retailers and wholesalers.

 

Roll-off Box.  Metal container usually 20′ long and 8′ wide, height 4′-8′ used to store loose material.  Rolls on and off a truck on built-in steel rollers. Holds roughly 17 tons.

 

Sample.  A representative specimen of a refining lot taken after the refining lot is in homogeneous form.

 

Sampling. The process of obtaining a small portion of a larger weight from which valid inferences about the larger weight can be made.

Screen Burn.  An image burned into a CRT because of a frequently used screen display.  CRTs with screen burns have lower resale value.

Secondary Refiner.  Refiner or processor that upgrades scrap rather than primary (mine) material.

Secure Erase.  An program embedded in modern hard drives (“firmware”) that, when executed, facilitates the total erasure of data from the hard drive

Semiconductor.  A material, such as germanium, gallium arsenide and silicon, that conducts electricity at a level somewhat between a real conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as plastic. Commonly referring to electronic devices that use this technology – e.g., transistors, integrated circuits.

Service Provider.  In the case of electronics recycling, companies that provide a variety of support services (which could also include collection and recycling) such as brokering, financial, legal, data security, media, software, transportation, etc.

   

Settlement.  Financial statement detailing refining and treatment charges, metal returned, penalties, advances and fees, cash and metal balances, etc. 

 

Settlement Date. The date on which a transaction is completed and the refiner issues or agrees to issue a Settlement.

 

Sheared flush (circuit boards).  Depopulated circuit boards from which the components have been removed by shearing so the surface is flat.

Shredder.  Equipment used to size reduce and separate electronics scrap by tearing it apart mechanically. Some shredder systems are large automated processes that produce separated streams of small pieces of materials for recycling.

SIMMS.  Single In-line Memory Modules.  A group of memory chips ganged together on small circuit boards.  SIMMS are often found on mother boards.

Sixty-four Bit Microprocessor.  Processor commonly found in higher-end, corporation-oriented computing devices, such as central servers and workstations.  The microprocessor can handle 64 bits of data at a time (see also thirty-two bit microprocessor).

Slag.  Dross from smelting or refining.

 

Smart Card/SIM Scrap.  Chips found in smart cards.

Smart Terminal.  See terminal.

Smelter.  A thermal processing operation where metals and other materials are separated.

Smelting. Melting scrap for a crude separation of precious metals from impurities, generally in preparation for refining.

 

Solder.  Metal alloys used to join metallic parts.  Also brazing alloys.

 

Soldered Circuit Board Trimmings:  Trimmings or rejects from new etched (solder coated) copper clad circuit boards.

Solutions.  Liquids containing spent solvents, PM plating compounds and sludge

 

Sputtering Target.  Metal or alloy used as a source of coating material in an ion and atomic exchange process.

 

Sweeps.  Metallic particles generally containing organic materials. Originally precious metal swept from the floor of jewelry manufacturers. Sometimes used as a generic term for low-grade scrap.

System Board.  See motherboard.

Take-Back Program (or Service).  A program, typically the responsibility of the original equipment manufacturer, to collect, recycle and/or reuse products that are no longer of use to the original customer.

Target.  See sputtering target.

TCLP.  Toxics characteristics leaching procedure; a method authorized in federal regulations for determining a hazardous waste.

Telephones and Telephone Answering Devices.  Telecommunication device with a handset or headset used for transmission of sound using a variety of technologies including wire-line and voice-Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Terminal.  Typically a keyboard and display monitor with little or no software that relies on a mainframe computer.  Often called a dumb terminal and employed in multiuser systems.  Some multiuser systems employ smart terminals (a keyboard and monitor containing some processing circuitry and occasionally a disk drive to allow for the downloading and display of information).

Thief Sample.  Representative sampling of solutions or solid particulates with a tube inserted in the container.  The tube captures a known portion of the material for subsequent processing or assay.

Thirty-two Bit Microprocessor.  Processor commonly found in standard desktop computers.  The microprocessor can handle 32 bits of data at a time (see also sixty-four bit microprocessor).

Toll Refining.  Scrap sent to a refinery, refined for a fee, and returned without any change of ownership.

 

Transformer.  Transforms electric energy to maintain the same frequency while voltage and current change.  In scrap, core with copper windings, free of attachments..

Transistor.   A regulator of current or voltage flow.  Transistors act as a switch or gate for electronic signals.

Treatment charge.  Refining charge based on a refining lot’s weight received.

 

Umpire.  An independent assayer or superintendent used by generators and processors as an arbitrator for disparities in assays or processing procedures.

Umpire Analysis.  Use of a third party’s chemical analysis to settle metal assay differences.

Video Display Unit (VDU).  See monitor.

Video, Image and Audio Devices. Includes personal/portable and home/non-portable, devices that can transmit, record or play back an image, audio or video using a variety of technologies including mechanical, optical, and digital.  Also Home theater in a Box (HTB)—bundled combinations of the above.  Also Aftermarket Vehicle devices for installation in motor vehicles aftermarket.

 

Waste.  Material too low in grade to be of sufficient economic value for recovery, reuse or recycling.

 

WEEE Directive.  Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive became European law in 2003.  It is a manufacturers’ responsibility law that sets collection, recycling and recover4y targets for all types of electronics and electrical goods.  Below are types of electronic scrap, prices of which are quoted on ScrapIndex.com:

• Mixed WEEE Scrap— waste electronic and electrical equipment that has a battery or an electrical cord. This includes computers, toys, games, power tools, etc
• Class B Mixed WEEE Scrap—equipment that contains a battery. This excludes all items that contain a monitor or flat screen display.
• Class B 10 WEEE Scrap—equipment that the entire unit weight is less than 10 pounds. This excludes all items that contain a monitor or flat screen display electrical equipment
• Class B 50 WEEE Scrap—equipment that the entire unit weight is less than 50 pounds, and greater than 10 pounds. This excludes all items that contain a monitor or flat screen display.
  • Class C Mixed WEEE Scrap—equipment that has an electrical cord. This excludes all items that contain a monitor or flat screen display.
  • Class C 10 WEEE Scrap—equipment that has an electrical cord that the entire unit weighs less than 10 pounds. This excludes all items that contain a monitor or flat screen display
  • Class C 50 WEEE Scrap—equipment that has an electrical cord that the entire unit weighs less than 50 pounds, and more than 10 pounds. This excludes all items that contain a monitor or flat screen display.
  • Class C 51 WEEE Scrap—equipment that has an electrical cord that the entire unit weighs more than 50 pounds. This excludes all items that contain a monitor or flat screen display.
    • Mixed Class F WEEE Scrap—equipment with a flat screen monitor. Flat screens include LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma technologies.
    • Class F 10 WEEE Scrap— includes all waste electronic and electrical equipment with a flat screen monitor where the entire unit weight is less than 10 pounds. Flat screens include LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma technologies.
    • Class F 50 WEEE—equipment with a flat screen monitor where the entire unit weighs less than 50 pounds, and more than 10 pounds. Flat screens include LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma technologies.
    • Class M Mixed WEEE Scrap—equipment that contains a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors
    • Class M 10 WEEE Scrap— equipment that contains a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors where the entire unit weighs less than 10 pounds.
    • Class M 50 WEEE Scrap— equipment that contains a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors where the entire unit weighs less than 50 pounds, and more than 10 pounds
    • Class M 51 WEEE Scrap— equipment that contains a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors where the entire unit weighs more than 50 pounds

 

WEPSI.  The Western Electronic Product Stewardship Initiative.

White Box.  A standard-configuration personal computer produced by a small or locally based producer. 

Wires, External Clipped.  Shall include all sorted trimmed computer wire and cable free of connectors and attachments. May include double insulated wires

Wires, External Unclipped.  Shall consist of wires and cables with connectors still attached. May include double insulated wires

Wires, Internal Clipped.  Wires from the interior of the computer.  Includesw ribbon wire and fine plastic insulated wires.  May not include double insulated wires or connectors.

Wires, Internal Unclipped and Connectors.  Wires and connectors attached to wires from the interior of the computer.  Includes ribbon wire and fine plastic insulated wires.  May not include double insulated wires.

Yield.  Payable metal(s) recovered from a refining lot.

Yoke.  The set of electromagnets around the outside of a cathode-ray tube.  The yoke steers electrons from the electron guns to the proper pixels on the display.

 

 

 

       

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