As global environmental awareness grows, the recycling of waste printed circuit boards (PCBs) has become a focus in the field of environmental protection. In 2022, the global output of electronic waste will reach 62 million tons, an increase of 82% compared with 2010. As a key part of electronic waste, waste PCBs contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants. If improperly disposed, heavy metals will penetrate into the soil and cause the content to exceed the standard by several times, polluting water sources and increasing the mortality rate of surrounding aquatic organisms by 30%. Toxic gases such as dioxins produced by incineration are more harmful to human health and the ecological environment. Recycling waste PCBs into wood-plastic products can effectively reduce electronic waste pollution and reduce the risk of leakage of harmful substances. At the same time, it can reduce the dependence of wood-plastic product production on new plastic raw materials and wood. For every ton of wood-plastic composite materials produced, 7.5 tons of carbon dioxide can be reduced, which is equivalent to cutting down 1.5 30-year-old eucalyptus trees, with significant ecological benefits.
From market data, there is a bright future for waste PCBs to be made into wood-plastic products. In 2024, the global market size of wood-plastic composite materials reached 53.824 billion yuan, and it is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.94% by 2030, and the scale is expected to exceed 95 billion yuan. Taking the Chinese market as an example, China's wood-plastic material output in 2023 has reached nearly 5 million tons, and the scale of the wood-plastic composite wallboard industry has reached 18.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%. The average annual growth rate in the past five years has exceeded 10%, and it is expected to reach about 24 billion yuan in 2025. There are dozens of domestic companies using the relevant wood-plastic technology of Wang Qingwen's team at South China Agricultural University, including listed companies. With the help of advanced technology, these companies transform "scraps" such as waste plastics, straw, and sawdust into building materials such as floors, columns, and beams to promote industrial development. As a major consumer of wood-plastic materials, the United States has an annual demand for wood-plastic composite materials in the residential and railway transportation sectors alone, exceeding one million tons. Germany is an important market for wood-plastic flooring. With the development of real estate and commercial real estate, the demand for related building materials such as wood-plastic flooring continues to be released. In Japan and South Korea, the construction and decoration industries have a high demand for environmentally friendly materials. As a leader in the domestic wood-plastic industry, Sentai shares have three series and more than 100 varieties of products, which are sold to more than 60 countries or regions including Japan and South Korea. With its product advantages, it occupies a certain share in these markets. Wood-plastic products made from waste PCBs also have great development space in these markets due to their environmental protection characteristics.
The dual drive of policy and technology has pressed the accelerator for the recycling of waste PCBs into wood-plastic products. Countries have introduced policies to encourage environmental protection and resource recycling, promote the coordinated development of the waste PCB recycling industry and the wood-plastic products market, and bring new business opportunities to enterprises. With the continuous advancement of technology, the process of grinding waste PCBs into wood-plastic products has become more mature, and indicators such as material strength and weather resistance have reached or even exceeded traditional wood-plastic products. In the future, the model of recycling waste printed circuit boards into wood-plastic products is expected to become a model of win-win situation for environmental protection and economy, and play a greater role in the global sustainable development process.
