[Leica] Re: Old electronics

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

Back a few years ago there was a company that accepted old computer  
boards to salvage the gold from the contacts. But as the devices got  
cheaper and cheaper, less and less gold was used and salvage became  
uneconomic. As for the lead in CRTs, most of it is in the tube glass  
to stop harmful x-rays from getting out. Again, there used to be  
several tube recyclers who would break off the neck of the defunct  
picture tube and weld on a new electron gun. No more. The only users  
of recycled highly leaded  glass are optical companies and makers of  
leaded crystal goblets (Swarovski?).

I am fortunate in that my town has a couple of hazardous material  
disposal days. All forms of failed electronics, pesticides,  
chemicals, and scrap metal are accepted, no questions asked. I  
understand that the recovered materials are loaded into giant  
containers and then shipped off to Solms where they are fabricated  
into Leica M8s.

Larry Z