A Biodegradable Printed Circuit

A Berkeley Lab-led research team has developed a fully recyclable and biodegradable printed circuit. The advance could divert wearable devices and other flexible electronics from landfills and mitigate the health and environmental hazards posed by heavy metal waste. Watch this video to learn more.

“When it comes to plastic e-waste, it’s easy to say it’s impossible to solve and walk away,” said senior author Ting Xu , a faculty senior scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division, and professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering at UC Berkeley. “But scientists are finding more evidence of significant health and environmental concerns caused by e-waste leaching into the soil and groundwater. With this study, we’re showing that even though you can’t solve the whole problem yet, you can at least tackle the problem of recovering heavy metals without polluting the environment.”